And So the Adventure Continues
by blue-eyed-wondergirl
Summary: Three years after Destroyer, the Justice League is moving on with their lives, but life as they know it will change forever. The ultimate battle between good and evil is upon them, but will they be ready? Chapter 22 is Up!
1. Chapter 1: Shadows and Darkness

NOTE: I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am also not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please review and let me know what you think. Thanks!

* * *

"Sing me no songs of daylight. Sing instead of shadows and darkness, and memories of midnight." Sappho

* * *

Lex Luthor looked around at his so called comrades who sat around the fire they had crafted from various materials they could scavenge to keep themselves warm and cook what meat they could catch. "You know gentlemen, we have much in common. We have all cheated death, we have all been at one time or another the greatest evil villain in the universe, and we all want to see the Justice League crumble and fall." As he talked, Lex drove the stick he had been using to cook his snake supper into the ground, breaking the stick in two. He slowly brought the broken stick that was in his hand to eye level. "If only it could be as easy as breaking a stick, but we all know with the Justice League, nothing is easy. Then again, that is why to witness the end of the Justice League will be all the more sweeter."

To Lex's right sat Darkseid, the creature he had resurrected and the very creature that had almost destroyed the league. Maybe Lex should have let Darkseid go ahead and massacre the league. Then again, Darkseid would have taken him and his minions, the few that had survived the events leading up to and after the resurrection of Darkseid, with the league and Earth into oblivion. Now, after 10 months as Lex had estimated to have gone by since their encounter with the league, Darkseid was no longer the threat Lex had thought him to be, rather Lex now saw this alien as a brother in arms against the league, but as a brother he didn't trust as far as he could heave him across the floor.

Lex, feeling and knowing it was his fault Darkseid was destroying the Earth, went and obtained the Anti-Life Equation, or so he though he had obtained the equation. What looked to be an easy way out, turned into a sacrifice that Lex was unaware he was making and by that, one he really was not willing to make. How he had understood the plan, once Darkseid would touch the equation, he would be trapped in another place and time, far from Earth and Lex would be on the league's good side for saving all humanity. The truth turned out to be quite the opposite, but the reality came to be that when Darkseid touched the equation, which was not the real equation, Luthor was also sucked into the other dimension and was forced to work with the alien in order to survive this dimension.

As they had walked across this desert like place where water was scarce and the inhabitants seemed to look like gargoyles yet had the ability to communicate and understand English; Lex and Darkseid talked and began to understand each other's intention and dislike not only for Superman, but for the entire Justice League. It was during this wondering time, they pledged to get out of this place and take revenge on the ones who sent them to this cursed place, the Justice League.

Surprises were around every corner, and not all these surprises were unwelcomed. During the third month, they had come upon the main reason Lex was in this place, Brainiac. He was propped up against a wall of red earth and as Lex walked toward the scrap iron, he felt a surge of energy run through his body and at the same time, noticed the lights come alive on the android's face and turned towards Lex.

"I knew you would find me and reactivate my hard drive. In all logic, we will have to work together to get out of this dimension, but once we are out of here, I will seek my revenge on you and on Kal-El, the only son of Jor-El." Brainiac showed no emotion as he spoke nor did his voice depict any emotion.

"Fine by me, Brainiac," Luthor replied as he stared into the androids so called eyes. "But what about the Justice League? Aren't they as much to blame for this as the big, blue Boy Scout?"

The words he had uttered, struck a microchip in Brainiac. He lowered his head, stood up, and walked toward Luthor. "You speak the truth, but we first must get out of this dimension and according to my calculations, it is not possible within this lifetime." He moved his head so he could stare Luthor in the eyes, "knowing the two of us are stuck here for eternity is payment enough for what you have done to me. For, I still have various parts of me scattered throughout the universe."

A wicked smile came across Lex's face, "but you would need me to activate those parts, now wouldn't you. And I am sorry to say, but I am busy for the rest of eternity."

With those words, the three of them walked on and spent the next seven months trying to survive and determine where they were. It was the longest, most trying times for all three of them. Even the android agreed it was a harsh environment.

Darkseid kept mentioning that he had a never-ending thirst and hunger that would only get worse with each meal and drink he took. He almost felt like the dimension was trying to slowly drive him mad. Luthor also mentioned he had the never ending thirst and hunger, then at the same time, he felt himself growing with rage and hatred towards the Justice League, towards all humanity, for it was they who had given him up like a sacrifice and seemed to care not if they ever saw him again or put any effort into finding him. I bet they wouldn't have done this to President Luthor, Lex thought as they continued their trek across the barren world, dimension, or what ever the hell it was.

Braniac now sat on a boulder to Lex's left. He too had told his trials with Kal-El, but also went into detail about his parents, Krypton itself, and how his revenge on Kal-El would be the final blow to the late Jor-El, since his beloved son would die and the Kryptonian race would die permanently with him.

The fire's crackles masked the footsteps of the two men approaching the group from among the ruins of an old building. The two men were of the same height and built, both of them presented themselves as if they were all that mattered and in this so-called dimension, they were. Without even looking at one and other, the men began to clap in sync with each other and this startled the group of three.

"Bravo, any weaker mortal would have either killed his companions or killed himself. You have all passed the test and after listening to this conversation, you are correct, we all have something in common." Hades, god of the underworld smiled at them and continued his path toward them with Ares, god of war and hate matching his stride.

"Who are you and who gave you the right to intrude on this conversation." Lex Luthor stood to his full height and marched towards the two men. "I demand to know and I demand answers. Where the HELL are we?"

Hades smirked at Luthor, "you are in Hell or I should say you are in MY kingdom, the kingdom of Tartarus, the underworld full of evil, hate, and everything else that is nasty. I am Hades, Lord of Tartarus and this is Aries, god of war and Lord of the hatred that dwells in the hearts and souls of humanity. You my friend are Alexander Luthor, eternal foe to Superman also know as Kal-El. You are here because you were presenting the Anti-Life Equation to Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips and the only creature to come remotely close to destroying Superman."

Lex stared at this so called god and was not impressed, "and how can you prove this to be true, that you are Hades."

Before he had finished his statement, a devil like creature stood in the place where the man had once stood. His devil like creature was over 10 feet tall, had dragon wings with a wingspan of over 20 feet, and an arrow like tip that was attached to a long whip like tail. He looked down upon Luthor and shot fire out of his mouth and Luthor crouched down but at the last moment, Ares lifted up his hand, with his palm towards the bald man and commanded the flames to come to him. Once the flames reached his hand, it divided itself into 6 fireballs and began to juggle themselves. The balls slowly dissipated and Ares returned his arm to his side.

At seeing this, Brainiac stood up from the rock he had been occupying, "according to my data, Ares and Hades exist only in Greek Mythology."

"If you keep reading your data, you will notice that Amazons only live in Greek Mythology, but I believe you have met one, in fact I believe you have met my daughter, Diana, Princess of the Amazons." Hades kept staring at the man before him. At the mention of his daughter he returned to his human form. "Let us join you and we will help you fulfill your pledge to rid the world of the Justice League."

Regaining his composure, Lex stood up to his full height once again, "and what do you want in return?"

"You are smart Luthor. What I want is to be allowed to fight against these so called meta-humans and to receive the praise and glory that is rightfully mine as god of war and hate. You, Alexander Luthor, can rule the world for as long as you are alive, but I am immortal and once you are dead, I gain total control over the entire world. " Ares had raised his voice and was now breathing deeply, trying to regain his breath.

"And, I want my daughter alive and brought to me, along with her mother Hippolyta. Also, I want the head of the man who has been courting my daughter, the one known as Batman, brought to me on a golden plate. You can do with Superman what you want, but Wonder Woman is to be unharmed," Hades looked Luthor in the eyes.

"What do you have in mind for a plan," Luthor asked, not backing down from stare Hades was giving him.

"We will strike when they are most vulnerable, when they believe you are all dead and their guard is let down. Then, we strike them where it hurts, the ones they love. We will strike slowly and then give a final blow when they lease expect it. The time I am talking about is in two years, this will give you plenty of time to get acquainted with your new minions, develop the strategy even more, and give you time to study you opponents." Hades smiled, he was pleased that Luthor like his idea and seemed to be intoxicated with the thought of having not one, but two gods working with him. As long as he never states the gods worked for him, he would serve his purpose but he could always be disposed of and the one known as Darkseid could take his place. But then again, Hades knew he could find another mortal to help him play out his plan, but their was something about the man that stood in front of him, staring him in the eye and not breaking eye contact.

"New minions," Lex asked with a bewildered look. Seconds later, with just the snap of Hades' fingers, a legion of soldiers, walking skeletons, goblins/devils, and hideous monsters arose from the ground all around the group. They arose out of nothing more than the dirt and sand of the land for as far as the eye could see.

"Gentlemen, I like you style." Luthor gave a satisfied look.

Brainiac nodded his approval, "I agree."

Darkseid had been quiet the whole time, he stared at both men, his lave scar blazing as he looked all of them over. "Lets get to work."


	2. Chapter 2: Always Perfect for You

**NOTE:** I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am not making any profit from this work of ficion. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please read, review, and let me know what you think. Thanks!

**3 Years After Destroyer**

* * *

"Soul-mates are people who bring out the best in you. They are not perfect but are always perfect for you." Author Unknown

* * *

Clark Kent, better known to the world as Superman, landed onto the apartment's balcony and silently led himself into the bedroom through the sliding glass door. He tried his best to be quiet, but the mound that occupied the left side of the queen-sized bed began to stir. Lois Lane-Kent rubbed her eyes and began to sit up, but she did so slowly and carefully. At 7 ½ months pregnant, Lois found that she could not move as fast or freely as she could before she was pregnant or even during her first trimester when she could still move with out her belly getting in her way. Also, she could still use her regular clothes, now in her third trimester, she was reduced to use maternity clothes that she could not believe she, the great Lois Lane (she still used her maiden name as a professional journalist) had to go maternity clothes shopping and wear clothes that were so baggy when she tried them on, but they weren't so baggy anymore.

"You're okay, I didn't mean to wake you. I really should oil the sliding glass door. I think I'll do that after our dinner date with Bruce and Diana tomorrow night." Clark spoke as he headed to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom, Lois could hear the shower turn on and smiled as the baby within her womb seemed to tremble at the sound of the water running through the pipes that were hidden within the wall behind her head.

"I know, dad needs to move the bed, but if all goes as planned, we will be moving out of your father's ole bachelor pad and into a house outside of Metropolis. Then, I'll be a suburban mom with a minivan, vacuum the floors in my pearl earrings, and making a home cooked meal every night from scratch." Lois looked to the right at the picture of the house they would be buying and she let out a big snicker that made the baby quiver. She grabbed the picture of the light blue, Victorian style house with the wrap around porch that reminded Clark of his childhood home in Kansas. The house was between Metropolis and Gothem and sat on over 40 acres of land.

When they first looked at it, they were unsure but figured with a growing family, especially a family that could potential have the ability to fly, cook marshmallows with their own eyes, and crush concrete with their bare hands, the extra space would come in handy, especially when Clark would fly in and out to get to work, Justice League or Dailey Planet. The price was steep, but with the right amount of budgeting, they could make it work. After only visiting the place just once, the couple had fallen in love with not just the house, but the old barn that was in need of some serious TLC, and the groves of trees scattered throughout the pastures.

The next day, both had agreed it was the place of their dreams and were ready to make the down payment and were down at the realtor's office at 8 a.m. to help the secretary carry some boxes into the office from her car and great the realtor with a styrofoam cup of the finest coffee brewed in Metropolis. As the realtor had taken the cup, she hesitated and told them another party had come forward and were offering to pay twice what the Clark's had offered. At that moment, Lois felt her heart sink into the depths of her stomach and she didn't have to look over to see the disappointment on his face, she could feel Clark's disappointment as he put his left arm around her to try and give her comfort.

The realtor looked out the glass window, "well speaking of the second party, here he comes now. Let me introduce him to you and maybe you folks can work something out. I have worked with him before and he has been easy to work with and he has the most generous heart I have ever seen." The petite, blond haired realtor walked towards the door as the bell chimed, informing the employees of the potential customer.

Lois had to muster all of her strength and dignity to look at this BASTARD who had come in and plucked their hopes and dreams away from their new family. Then again, curiosity got the best of her and she came face to face with the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes, eyes that she had seen before and knew all to well.

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Kent. My Lois, you look absolutely stunning with your radiating expecting mother's glow." Bruce Wayne new a thing or two about how to butter a pretty girl up, especially an ex-girlfriend who knew his secret night time rituals and had the power to announce that information to the world with a simple pen and notepad. At that moment, Bruce wasn't sure who would take the first punch: Clark or Lois. For at that moment, both of them gave him a look that he was sure would even make Batman fret and Bruce Wayne was rethinking his plan.

"I have a dilemma and I was hoping to run into you both this morning. As you know, my wife Diana Prince-Wayne loves horses with a passion, but we are running out of space at the stable and pasture within the grounds of Wayne Manor. So, I figured I would buy some new land and build more stables, but when I came upon this estate, it was perfect except I don't need another vacation house, I hardly have time to go to the ones I have already." Lois crossed her arms and gave Bruce the look that she was not impressed with this and he should get to the point. "Anyway, yesterday when I talked to Mrs. Baker here, she told me that you were also looking at the property, so I offer that I will purchase the estate, but I will sell you the three acres that the house resides on. I am sure we can work out an agreement with my lawyers on price, payment schedule, and terms of agreements."

"No deal unless we obtain the old barn along with the house." Louis couldn't believe that those words came out of her mouth, but looking into Bruce's eyes, he had expected no less from her. He too had been a guest at the Kent's farm in Kansas and knew how much that barn meant to Clark and what it would mean for him to give his child a barn to grow up with. With a big smile, Bruce outstretched his right hand to both of them, curious as to who would take his hand and shake it. He was also curious as to how stern their grip would be once they did obtain his hand.

Lois looked at the outstretched hand and grinned a mischievous grin. She walked forward, pass the outreached hand and pulled Bruce into a hug, careful that her stomach wouldn't get in the way. "Bruce, we've been friends for over 10 years now, we don't shake hands, we give hugs." With that she took her right hand and started patting his back and went in for the kill. She did an extra hard pat on the area that she had smacked all those years ago in her apartment when he had sat on her bed and she dressed his wounds. He clenched his teeth and tried to suppress a moan of agony. Leaning toward his ear, she whispered, "I heard that area of your back is still rather sensitive. I couldn't let you off that easily."

As she pulled away from the embrace, she placed a caring hand on her swollen belly and looked back up at Clark. He was still standing in the same place, the look on his face showed that he was not happy, but he still put his right hand forward and shook Bruce's own hand sternly.

"We, I mean Lois and I, will have to talk this over and then we will talk to you later. But, thank you for your generosity and kindness." That was all Clark could say at that moment. He was disappointed, he appreciated Bruce's generosity, but he felt like he was excepting charity from someone who could flaunt in front of others that he had the ability to purchase a home without going over any budget or digging into savings. Hell, Bruce probably doesn't even have a savings account. Clark voiced his opinion to Lois on the drive to The Daily Planet; Lois voiced her opinion and thoughts about the gesture, but they should talk to Bruce and understand what his true motive was.

Bruce had talked to Clark at the tower later that night and had explained that the house and barn would be in their name, it would be partly a gift from Bruce and Diana, but to make Clark feel better, him and Lois would pay for the rest of the property with monthly payments in cash and keep an eye on the horses that would be stabled there.

That was what Lois was told and she had a feeling that the conversation was probably more in-depth than that, but Clark didn't want to get Lois worked up in her current condition. Clark had also informed Lois that the following week, they were going to join Bruce and Diana at Wayne Manor to talk about the arrangements and conditions about the house and property. It turned out, the only night that would work for all four of them was that following Wednesday.

"You know, if you keep looking at that picture, you will burn a hole through it." Clark had come out of the shower, dressed in his blue pajama top and bottom while Lois was lost in her thoughts. Lois began to come out her recollection of last week's events. Placing the picture back on the nightstand and laying back down on the bed, she sighed, "you know Smallville, I still can't believe this is really happening. We are about to celebrate our second wedding anniversary, in less than three months we will be parents, and if all goes well tomorrow night, we can be moving into our first home this weekend. It seems like a fantasy, yet when I was younger and right out of college, I promised myself I would never become a suburban mom."

"You won't be a suburban mom, you'll be a farm wife, making sure the kids don't track mud into the house," Clark stood in the bathroom doorway, looking at his wife with loving eyes, the same way Pa would look at Ma whenever she would walk into the room.

"And feeding the chickens, collecting the eggs, and milking ole Bessie before breakfast every morning so we can have a home grown breakfast ever morning or should I say mornin'." Lois finished his statement for him, yawned and turned onto her left side, pulling the hand made comforter Ma Kent had given them for their wedding gift up to her chin.

"You were reading my mind, but we will have to make sure we get two cows, you know how fast I go through milk, and they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Clark spoke as he walked out of the doorway of the bathroom and climbed into bed, snuggling next to his beloved wife, his dearest friend. He pulled Lois close to him and wrapped his right hand around her protruding stomach. "I love you Lois, good night."

Lois sighed, "I love you to Smallville and thank you for being the best husband a woman could ask for. I know you're going to make one super dad." With that, the Kents fell asleep, both of them with a smile of satisfaction on their face.


	3. Chapter 3: When You Least Expect It

**NOTE: **I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please read, review and let me know what you think. Thanks!

* * *

"Miracles are instantaneous; they cannot be summoned, but they come by themselves, usually at unlikely moments and to those who least expect them." Katherine A. Porter

* * *

"_Warriors don't cry, what is wrong with me_," thought Diana Prince-Wayne to herself as she lay in the king sized bed she shared with her husband, Bruce Wayne. The silk sheets caressed her body as she flipped onto her right side to look out the master bedroom's patio doors and longingly stroke the bare spot that made up the right portion of the bed. Bruce was out on patrol and wouldn't be home for another couple hours at the earliest.

Diana used the silk sheets to wipe away the tears from her eyes that were now blood shot and puffy from the crying she had been doing for the past hour. She couldn't remember when she did start crying that night, but she knew why she was crying. It was before her wedding, during a physical on the Watchtower that Jonn told her the somber news: she was sterile. She would never be able to have children of her own. Those words still stung every time she replayed that heartrending day in her head. Bruce had comforted her, telling her he still loved her. It never sank in that she wouldn't have children like the other couples, Amazons didn't have children and child rearing was not one of their high priorities. The sudden appearance of tears and reality of what being sterile was all started when Diana thought back to the night when John and Shayera had proclaimed all the founding members of the Justice League to be the godparents to their newborn son, Rex. That was three months ago when she had held the newborn in her arms for the first time, felt his tiny fingers cling to her pinky finger with a grip that was impressive for one so small.

Rex had been intoxicating to Diana, even before he was born. A few months before his birth, Shayera and Diana had been walking the halls of the Watchtower when Shayera had come to a dead stop. Diana looked towards her and found a smile plastered on the Thanagarian's face. What was going on with her Diana had thought, but before she could say a word, Shayera grabbed her hands and placed them on her stomach. At the moment, Diana had felt the unborn child kick and was amazed at what she felt. Pregnancy and babies were as mysterious to her as men were and she had watched in amazement as Shayera's stomach had gone from being perfectly flat to look as if she had a basketball hidden under her shirt at all times.

But, the real cause of the sudden baby boom among the Justice League really started with the marriage boom that had started after Lex Luthor and Darkseid had disappeared. All the weddings and babies were Clarks fault or so Bruce claimed.

Clark had started the wedding domino effect over two years ago when he told Lois Lane his secret and proposed to her. At the wedding, Shayera had caught the bouquet and the next year, her and John had married. Diana had been the Maid-of-Honor at the Stewart's wedding where it was her turn to catch the bouquet. The bouquet catching myth continued and less than 6 months ago, her and Bruce had been married in a small ceremony at Wayne Manor. She tossed the same bouquet Lois and Shayera had tossed and was ecstatic to see Barbara Gordon catch it and she knew, deep in her heart, that their family would be celebrating another wedding within the next two years.

Wiping her eyes again, staring out the patio into the full moon, Diana was envious of her friends. While they had all found their soul mates, two couples were enjoying the one thing she craved the most right now, a child of their own. Since marrying Bruce six months ago, she had adopted his two wards as her own: Dick and Tim. She loved both of them and would bend over backwards to help either of them.

She had helped Bruce mend the rift between him and Dick, but Dick wouldn't move back in to the manor, he did come over once a week to take part in Sunday supper they shared as a family. She had stepped into the role of being a sergeant mother and listening to his problems, especially his Babs problems. They had been dating and she always offered Dick insight into what is in a woman's heart.

Tim was in high school and still lived in the manor. She enjoyed their Saturday afternoon horse rides together, having him show her how to play his video games, and the sporadic hugs he would give her and sometimes, it felt like he was scared to let go of her for she would leave them. Tim was a wise cracking teenager with a heart of gold and a smile that would make her forget all her worries.

She deeply loved them just like they were her own, but seeing Clark and Lois with their hands following the baby's movements or going with Lois shopping and helping her pick out little outfits, it made her heart ache for a child all her own. How could something so small have such an impact on Amazon this way? Even when she would go into Gotham, she would watch the children as they played in the park or shopped alongside their moms and dads. She often daydreamed of her and Bruce walking in Gotham Park with a stroller, enjoying the warm afternoon and the bundle of joy they had created together.

With out warning, Diana felt her mouth go dry and her eyes widened with dismay. She flung the sheets off her and jumped out of bed. As she came in contact with the wooden floor, she suddenly felt lightheaded and staggered her way towards the master bathroom.

She flipped on the lights, staggered to the toilet, and kneeled down next to the porcelain throne. The dryness in her mouth started to intensify as she leaned into the bowl, but she didn't throw up, she dry heaved twice. After the second time, she arose and walked to the vanity area.

"I don't know if actually throwing up would have felt better, but at least I don't have to clean anything up before Bruce gets home," Diana told her reflection as warm water ran from her faucet, allowing the steam to build up in the bathroom. As she leaned forward to inhale the steam, she dipped her hands into the warm water and splashed her face. After splashing her face, she shut off the water, grabbed her monogrammed blue hand towel, and rose to her full height. She once again looked at your reflection that was claded in a sleek periwinkle nightgown that fell to her knees and was held up by spaghetti straps.

With the final pat to dry her face, Diana laid the towel down and exited the bathroom, flipping the lights off as she walked through the doorframe. Once she stepped back into the master bedroom, she turned to her right and walked up to the table that occupied the wall next to the entrance to the master bathroom. Upon the cherry table that stood three feet tall and had a large oval top, 10 picture frames displayed the faces and memories that were dear to Bruce and Diana. In the middle of the table, two identical gold plated frames towered over the other frames and stood next to each other. One held the wedding picture of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Bruce's beloved parents and the other had her and Bruce's wedding picture and when they were placed side by side, they mirrored each other perfectly. The frame on her left had Thomas standing towards the left, turned in toward Martha who was on the right side of the frame while the frame on the right had Bruce on the right side and Diana on the left.

The other eight pictures included Tim's current school picture, Dick and Babs at the wedding (Babs holding the bouquet she had just caught with a mischievous grin on her face and glancing up at Dick out of the corners of her eyes and Dick with a surprised look on his face as he stared right at the bouquet). Another picture from the wedding was the first family picture with Bruce and Diana standing in front of the backyard gazebo with Dick, the best man, standing to the right of Bruce and Tim, one of the ushers, standing to the left of Diana. Next to their family picture was a family picture of Diana and Hippolyta who had ventured off the island to witness her daughter's wedding. The last picture from her wedding showed Diana dancing with Alfred who had the honor of giving her away and was entitled to take part in the father-daughter dance since their was no way she would have invited her so called father to do the honor. Alfred was a great surrogate father to Bruce and had embraced Diana more like a daughter than as the woman who had married his employer.

Two more pictures featured weddings, one was the Kent wedding party in which Bruce had been Best Man and Diana had been one of the bridesmaids and the other picture was the wedding party from the Stewart's wedding where Diana had been the Maid of Honor and Bruce had been a groomsmen. The newest picture caught Diana's eye and a single tear ran down her left cheek. It was a picture of Diana holding Rex the day he was born. In the picture, Diana is looking affectionately down upon Rex, swaddled in a blue blanket fast asleep. It was the day she had started crying and getting sick to her stomach realizing she would never hold her OWN child in her arms.

Bruce had come upon her one night in the study, laying on the couch with tears rolling down her eyes as she stared at the picture Shayera had given her in a white picture frame decorated with figures of mom and baby animals. It was a gesture of kindness Shayera had given Diana for helping her put the nursery together and as a token of thanks to her friend for always being there. When Bruce saw Diana crying, he asked her about it but she just said she had something in her eyes. He knew her better than that and gave his signature Bat glare at his beloved wife. She finally broke down into more tears as Bruce sat next to her and comforted her. She had told him what she felt when she had held Rex for the first time and how she wanted a child more than life itself. This comment made Bruce weary and so he took Diana off the working rotation at the Watchtower and stated that Diana was going to be the new Executive Director for Wayne Foundations while she became accustomed to married life and acquainted with living the lifestyles of man's world. That was what the league had been told, what the public had been told was Wonder Woman was sent to an outer universe on intergalactic purposes.

Then again, with the lack of evil plots to spoil, the Justice League had been helping in other ways such as rebuilding communities after disasters, revamping the Watchtower's computers, and spending time answering natural disaster calls such as flooding or the occasional earthquake, even lower magnitude ones.

Evil went in cycles or so Diana had told Clark Kent one day when they met for lunch while he was in Gotham City covering a story for The Dailey Planet. It made her feel better spending time with a dear friend she could trust, but she never told him the real reason she was taking her extended honeymoon leave. She loved Clark like a brother and she didn't want him to worry about her, he was already worried that Lois would over do herself being pregnant and still the determined reporter willing to go to any lengths to get the scoop.

Diana reached for the picture of her and Rex, picked it up, but she wasn't looking at the picture behind the glass. Rather, Diana looked at the wallet sized ultrasound picture tucked between the frame and glass in the bottom left hand corner. That same day she had met Clark, the first thing he had shown her was the pictures of the latest trip to the doctor and handed her a personal copy for her and Bruce of one the ultrasound pictures. With Clark in such a happy mood and the light she saw in his eyes, she put her best foot forward and never faltered to show her true feelings.

Tears began to burn Diana's eyes again and she put the picture frame down, but as she sat it up on the table, it collapsed under its own weight, glass side up. She didn't hear the clunk the frame made as it came in contact with the table, she didn't hear anything as she turned, walked towards her side of the bed and kneeled down, folding her hands in prayer.

"Hera, please give me strength." After Diana said this, she folded her arms on the bed, rested her head upon her arms, and cried the tears she had been holding back.

As she cried, a figured materialized on the other side of the bed. She was a beautiful blond haired woman who stood as tall as Diana but had emerald eyes that were both kind and stern. She presented herself like royalty and upon her head was a tiara that sparkled with diamonds and pearls. Her golden locks fell to the middle of her back and the gold threaded toga she wore heightened her athletic and slender form.

"I have always given you strength my child. But, I have bestowed upon you a new source of strength that I have come to talk to you about." Hera, Greek goddess of woman and motherhood stated, looking upon the woman who had shown her loyalty to her in so many battles.

Diana, still sniffling, brought her head up and saw the goddess standing across from her. Without hesitation, Diana stood up and bowed toward her beloved goddess.

"Hera, forgive me for forgetting my manners. I am honored you have come to visit me in my home and forgive me for my current state." Diana looked up to the goddess and wiped the tears from her eyes.

The moon shown through the window and acted as a spotlight upon Hera as she spoke to her beloved Amazon.

"Diana, known as Wonder Woman, member of the Justice League, to the world and known as Diana Prince-Wayne to Gotham City, why do you cry? You should be happy for your friends, you shouldn't be envious of your friends, that is not the Amazon way and you know that."

Diana sighed, " I know, my friends mean everything to me, but I thought marriage and having surrogate children would remove this want for a child all my own, but it has only heightened that desire. Oh Hera, give me the strength to get through this and take away this envy I have."

Hera looked at Diana with a stern look, but a smile wiped upon her face. "Diana, do you remember the night you came back here after visiting Shayera after she had given birth and you had held her son for the first time?"

Diana nodded a cautious yes.

"Your husband went out on what he refers to as patrol, but you came up here, to the master bedroom and you prayed to me. You stated you would give up your immortality in order to have a child. When you made that prayer request, you made the request with all you heart and I was moved by what you had asked for. So, at that moment, I took away your immortality and the next night," Hera let a smirk escaped her lips at the implementation at what had happened. Diana glanced away from the goddess' eyes and blushed a deep scarlet as she recalled the lovemaking that had occurred that following night between her and Bruce.

In the blink of an eye, Diana recomposed herself and looked back at beautiful goddess, "My Queen, I still have my powers so I must be immortal, I haven't seen anything that would make me realize I was mortal. I still have possession of the gifts the gods and goddesses bestowed upon me." Diana couldn't believe she had talked out against her beloved goddess. Her mother would have been appalled if she knew her own daughter had talked back to a goddess.

"Yes, you have Diana. What about a few nights ago when you were sparing against your husband in the cavern beneath this place and you bruised easily and also felt sore for such a long period, in fact you have never felt pain like that before from a simple sparing match, have you?"

"Then, that explains why I have been feeling tired. I've also become so emotional, not being able to sleep, my stomach being so sensitive to solid foods, and the recent incidents of running to the bathroom fearing I would throw up. "

"No, my dear Diana, those symptoms have nothing to do with your mortality, it has to do with what you traded your mortality for. A new source of strength I have bestowed upon you. A child of your own"

As Hera finished her response, Diana's hands rushed to her stomach and noticed for the first time, her stomach wasn't perfectly flat and the nightgown she wore was tight cross her midsection. Her blue eyes widened and a smile slowly engulfed her mouth. She looked back up to the goddess and millions of questions flooded to her mind, but before she could ask a single question, she was interrupted.

"You conceived that night after you made your request, so you are three months pregnant and about to enter your second trimester. I will not disclose the gender of your child, but I will let you know that this child and future children, if you and your husband wish to have more, will have all your powers. Your children will also be mortal, but I warn you, they will be a prime targets for a particular god who wants revenge upon you and your mother."

"Hades." Diana scowled at the mention of the god who was her father. She didn't want to believe it, but her mother had told her the truth and backed Hades claim that he had helped Hippolyta mold a child out of clay and bestowed one of his physical aspects upon the sculpture, he plucked a raven hair from his head and inserted it into the crown of the clay child. She had not only inherited his raven locks, she also had his quick temper. "How can I protect my children? I will not let that god bring harm upon my family."

"You will have to figure that out yourself. However, I have come for another reason Diana, I have come to warn you about evil and danger that is coming. Foes from your past are joining forces. In the years to come, many close to you will die but they shall not die in vane. The war is about to start and you will be tricked into believing good has been victorious, but when you least expect it, evil will rise again and it is uncertain who will win in the end: good or evil. But I must return to Olympus now." With that, a bright light engulfed the room and Hera, the Queen of the Greek gods and goddesses, was gone.

* * *

Bruce Wayne slowly turned the handle that led to the master bedroom and cautiously opened the door. With the stealth of Batman, Bruce walked into the room and stopped dead in his track when he saw his wife, kneeling next to their bed with her head upon her perfectly folded hands that lay on the bed. Bruce sighed and began to make his way towards his wife.

For common courtesy, he had started showering down in the Batcave after patrol and change into his pajamas down in the study so not to disturb anyone, especially Diana, so early in the morning. He wanted their marriage to last and figured since Diana could live with his night activates, then he could make some subtle changes such as taking showers downstairs when he came home from patrol, moving some of his clothes out of the master closet and into one of the guest room's closets, and allowing Diana to redecorate parts of the manor from dark and gray to more cheerful colors that reflected her inner personality.

Upon reaching the bed, he noticed that the sheets on her side of the bed had in fact been pulled back, letting him know she had been in bed at one point, but something had roused her out of the safety of the warm bed. Bending down, Bruce scooped up his wife, noticing her puffy eyes and the dry riverbeds on her face where tears had once ran down her cheeks. With tenderness, he deposited the sleeping princess back into the serenity of the silk sheets and pulled those sheets over her body clad in the periwinkle nightgown he had presented to her on their wedding night. Looking down at his sleeping beauty, he kissed her forehead and made his way to the other side of the bed, glancing at the table that held the picture frames and noticed that one of those pictures, and he knew which one, had fallen over. His closed his eyes and felt pity for his wife that he loved so much. He knew of only one thing he could do to bring her comfort and with that thought he crawled into bed and positioned himself next to his beloved wife.

"Good night Diana. Sweet dreams." Bruce whispered into her ear tenderly and draped his right arm over her sleeping form. His eyes slowly closed and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

Diana inhaled sharply through her nose and muttered, "good night Bruce and good night my little sun and stars." A gratifying smile overtook her mouth and her right hand caressed her stomach under the sheets.


	4. Chapter 4: Who is Left?

**NOTE:** I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please read, review and let me know what ou think. Thanks!

* * *

"War does not determine who is right - only who is left." Bertrand Russell

* * *

Darkseid and Lex Luthor put their plan into motion and the war between good and evil has officially been set into motion. 

Libraries are a place to increase knowledge in one's mind, but the library within Hades' Domain didn't only increase knowledge, it also increased hate within one's soul. Lex Luthor always enjoyed libraries, but as he sat at the large center table within Hades' beloved library, he felt hatred begin to pool within him and he enjoyed this new sensation.

"You know Luthor, I am not a big fan of team work because I do not want to be disappointed by another's own clumsiness. I am still unsure of the two of us working together." Darkseid glared across the table at the bald headed man who was dressed in a pressed black suit. Ever since Hades and Ares had rescued them, he had been dressing just like old times and was thrilled to get out of the grunge clothes.

"Ye of little faith Darkseid. This plan is as solid as you are. With the powers Hades and Ares will bestow upon us, we will destroy Superman and then go after the Justice League one by one," Lex shot back.

"You make it sound like we are bestowing the powers of the gods upon you," Hades' voice boomed as fire appeared in mid-air and the god of the underworld slowly materialized from the flames. "The only power we are gracing you with is new identities. We can't have the Justice Leaguers figuring out you are, shall we say, back from the dead? Now, lets go over this plan one more time before we grace each of you with a new identity."

"Today is the day Superman will die a painful death, while the Earth watches its precious adopted son die in agony." Darkseid stated to the god who proudly made his way to the head of the table.

"I asked for the plan you org, not what the outcome is to be." Hades hissed at the War Lord and then glared over to his left where Lex Luthor sat, calmly waiting for his turn to address the god of the underworld.

"Today, in Metropolis, the Justice League is allowing members of the U.N. to come up to their flying castle to take a tour via one of their Javelin Ships. Before the trip, they are having a press conference with members of the League and U.N. representatives. While the press conference is being held, Brainiac will download himself into the Javelin's computer. As they prepare to take off, the Javelin will come to life and take off under its own will and cause havoc in Metropolis." Luthor recited the plan from memory.

"With the new identities you will bestow upon us," Darkseid continued, "we will blend in at the press conference and be able to get up close to the members of the Justice League, in particular the Kryptonian. With kryptonite rods that will be in plain view but unrecognizable, we will weaken the beloved Superman and Brainiac will make the Javelin crash into the hero, killing him and all those on board the space craft."

"With the amount of kryptonite we will be taking with us, the blue Boy Scout won't be able to come within 10 feet of the press conference." Lex pushed his chair back, rose to his feet, and looked at Darkseid who was glaring across the table.

"With the amount of kryptonite WE will be taking, I will be the one carrying most of the kryptonite so it will be me that will bring down Superman." Darkseid stood up and locked eyes with the businessman.

Hades looked from Darkseid and then to Luthor with a grin of wickedness draping across his mouth. Ares had done his job well. When the gods caught up with the mortals, they were becoming close buddies. Now, years later and with Ares ability to bring out the worst in people had worked wonders on the two men before him. They had grown to loathe the other and wanted nothing more than to get rid of the other so he could have absolute power.

With one quick snap of Hades' fingers, a ring of fire encircled both occupants of the table. The ring formed at each of their wastes, splitted into two rings, with one ring traveling towards their heads and the other traveling towards the floor. Within seconds, two new figures stood where two of the greatest villains had been moments before. Both villains looked down at their new forms and then up to the one who had effortlessly changed their appearances without hesitation.

"Ares has taken Brainiac to the event," Hades' eyes blazed at each of them. "You know your parts and DON'T disappoint me." With the final words, Hades snapped his fingers again and two new rings of fire encircled the mortals once again and they were gone. Hades licked his lips, turned on his heels and headed out of the library.

* * *

"Excuse me, lady with a baby on board coming through," Lois Lane-Kent weaved her way through the crowd towards the press entrance for the Javelin Take-Off Event. Right behind her was Clark Kent, apologizing for Lois' behavior as she weaved in and out of the crowd that had assembled hoping to get a peak at the Justice League members who would be present to escort the U.N. Ambassadors to the Watchtower and take questions from the press while the others escorted the ambassadors for their 2 hour tour. 

At the press gate, Lois and Clark flashed their press badges at the security guard who scanned the bars on the badges with his hand held wand and unlatched the gate when both beeped to let them know they were on the guest list. Clark, never forgetting his Midwest manners, thanked the guard and followed his wife into the press area. Still outside, the press area was gated off from the rest of the crowd by a tall chain length fence with barbwire encircling the top of the fence. Not more than 500 feet from where they had entered the press area sat one of the Justice League Javelins and standing next to the Javelin was Green Lantern, Green Arrow, S.T.R.I.P.E., and Star-Spangled Kid (Stargirl) waiting for the press conference to begin.

Lois approached the press area right in front of the Javelin and whispered under her breath, "I was hoping they would have chairs at this thing and besides where is Superman?" She shot the 'I know the answer to that question' look at her husband who really didn't seem phased that she would ask a question about Superman.

"He will be meeting with the ambassadors at the Watchtower once they arrive." That was partially the truth. He would be meeting with the ambassadors at the watchtower, but he first had to cover the Javelin taking off and once the Javelin was gone, he would find a remote area and have Jonn teleport him up to the Watchtower so he could greet the guests. Once the tour was over, he would teleport back down to the take off sight that was also doubling as the landing site to finish covering this milestone event between Earth and the Justice League. Lois knew the plan, but she had to play the part that she still had a school girl crush on the man of steel and sometimes Clark felt like she was over playing the element.

Clark gave a quick wink to Green Lantern as he took out his pen and paper and Lois took out her own pad and paper from the bag Clark had carried in for her. After Lois had announced her pregnancy, Clark had started doing more and more for Lois such as carrying her bags, cleaning around the apartment, and carrying her up the flights of stairs when the elevators had been out of order at both The Daily Planet and their apartment building. After her third trimester had started, Clark wouldn't fly her anywhere, he would only carry her on foot so not to hurt their child.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for coming on this gorgeous day and welcome to the U.N.'s first trip to the Justice League Watchtower." General Davenport's deep voice boomed from the microphone as he addressed the crowd. The general was one of the key members of the U.N. and would be the master of ceremonies for the event today. "I am General Davenport, liaisons between the U.N. and the Justice League. I would like to introduce the other 4 members of the U.N. who will be joining me on this voyage to the Justice League Headquarters. Derric Beresford, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Travo Ming, Lead General of the People's Republic of China; Ekaterina Gustov, Vice President of Russia; Esteban Sandoz, Secretary of State for Brazil." At the mention of their names, all four ambassadors stepped forward and the crowd applauded them.

With the introduction of the members, they climbed aboard the Javelin with Green Arrow leading the way, as he would be their pilot for the journey to and from the Watchtower. After the passengers had been secured into their seats, Green Arrow settled himself into the pilot's seat and waited patiently for the cue from Green Lantern to start the Javelin and start its taxi towards the runway for take off.

Clark was taking notes on his pad and never noticed the slow moving man making his way up to the front of the crowd. The older man began to make his way towards the Kents, but he was more interested in the General's speech to notice that he was standing not 10 feet from Clark Kent. Lex Luthor had taken the identity of a Caucasian male in his late 60's who needed a cane to steady himself as he walked. To everyone around Lex, the cane looked like any typical cane you could purchase at a home health store or find at any hospital. To Lex, it was a glowing rod of Kryptonite that was more than enough to drain the powers of Superman.

As he approached where the Kents stood, Lex never glanced to his right or he would have seen Clark Kent begin to sweat. Clark wasn't the only one having problems, Lois stopped writing in mid sentence, dropped her pen and began to turn pale. The baby had been moving around with out a care in the world since their arrival, but now it stopped and the twitches she felt within her were raising red flags. She also began to feel a wave of pain slowly move through her body. She went to look at her husband who was standing at her right but found him sweating and falling to his knees with both hands holding his head.

"Clark, the baby has stopped moving." Lois' left hand went straight for her stomach and her right hand was draped on Clark's shoulder. She was now kneeling next to her husband.

The sudden collapse of Metropolis's finest reporters was starting to cause heads to turn towards the couple. Lex Luthor's head turned towards the source of the commotion and instantly he started to walk towards the scene. As he walked towards the Kents, he noticed, as he got closer to them, the more pain Clark Kent seemed to be in. He had seen someone else act like this whenever in the presence of kryptonite, Superman.

As the worn green eyes of Lex's new identity stared at the doubled over reporter, the sound of the Javelin roaring to life filled the air and began to taxi itself to the runway.

Green Arrow stared at the controls that had started moving on their own and touched his comlink with in his ear. "I hate to say this, but Houston we have a problem."

Green Lantern looked from his fallen comrade in the crowd to the Javelin that was taking on a personality of its own. Without hesitation, John's military background snapped into action and he was barking orders at his fellow leaguers.

"I'll take care of the crowd, Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. go after the Javelin and try to bring it down without hurting anyone in the spacecraft or on the grown," with those orders John flew towards Clark and Lois and engulfed them into a green bubble. "Please, everyone stay calm and let me help these folks."

Lex stepped back and his eyes widened with what he had just witnessed. Superman had been living amongst humans all these years and he now realized that it had been none other than Clark Kent, the shy reporter from the Daily Planet. Along with living amongst humans, he had also reproduced with Lois Lane. The plot thickens Lex thought and decided the time to strike would be now or never. With a sly smile, he began to turn around to get out of the mob so he could get in contact with Brainiac and tell him what he had just figured out and put an end to Superman and his future child once and for all.

As Lex turned around, he came face to face with an African American gentleman.

"We need to fall back. We know his secret and with this knowledge, we can crush him slowly and painfully." A thick Jamaican accent came from the gentleman's lips and Lex realized he was standing next to Darkseid in his new identity.

"I tell you what to do; no one dares to tell me what I should do." Lex shot back and made his way out of the mob with his comrade walking behind him carrying a video camera that was loaded in stealth mode with kryptonite just like the cane Lex used.

A good distance from the crowd that was more occupied with the run away Javelin, Darkseid stepped in front of the elderly man who was trying to get away, "we both want him dead, but why not drag his death out and make him watch the ones he loves die first. Fathers will go to great lengths to protect their families, but to have him see the death of his own child knowing their was nothing he could have done would bring the so called man of steel to his knees."

Lex thought it over. His comrade was right; they would retreat and inform the gods what they had discovered. With a silent nod, both men walked out of the press area and made ready to get in contact with Hades.

Brainiac had plugged himself into the outlets in the Javelin Control Room on the ground and was raising havoc with the spacecraft. He was in control of the machine and he was giving the passengers a ride they would never forget. The Javelin did barrel rolls, flew inches within buildings, and more than once did a nose dive into the ground only to redeem itself at the last minute.

The computer system at the watchtower had gone berserk and Jonn was on top of things. As he ran a diagnostics on the Javelin, the computer informed him of a foreign computer program that had taken over the system. The computer program of Brainiac was now controlling the Javelin and its passengers were at the android's mercy.

"This can't be possible," Jonn muttered under his breath as he began typing on the keyboard, trying to isolate the Brainiac program. If he could isolate the program and make sure it could not return to Brainiac's body, he would destroy the program once and for all.

Brainiac was enjoying his game of chicken with the Javelin so much that he never felt the presence of the virus Jonn had created begin to infiltrate the system. Before he knew it, Brainiac was starting to be reformatted within the Javelin's computer and he knew he had one chance to get out of the foreign system and back to the safety of his shell before the program would terminate him. At the speed of light, Brainiac fled towards the port that he had entered only to find it shut off.

"What has happened," Brainiac thought to himself as he tried desperately to escape the Javelin's hard drive. It was to late, he felt his program begin to terminate and in a matter of seconds, there was nothing left of Brainiac.

* * *

"Just a casualty of war, but then again, he had no soul so he really isn't a casualty." The blond engineer chuckled to himself as the connector between the shell of Brainiac and the control panel sparked from where they had been cut. 

With a stern grip, he placed his right hand on Brainiac's head and the instant he made contact with the metal, Brainiac began to melt into a puddle of silver liquid. In a matter of seconds, nothing remained of Brainiac and no visible proof was left that the android had even been present in the control room.

With an evil cackle, Ares stood where the engineer had been. A circle of fire engulfed the god and he disappeared moments before guards could break into the locked control room only to find the area vacant.

* * *

Green Arrow had control of the Javelin once again and landed the vehicle in the same vicinity where it had taken off. Always the gentleman, Oliver Queen escorted the people off the rogue machine and tuned into his com link. 

"What is the status," Green Arrows somber voice boomed over the speakers in the watchtower's med bay.

"Green Lantern has brought the Kent's to the watchtower and I am examining them as we speak." Jonn Jones calming voice echoed back.

"Then, what in the world just happened," Green Arrow shot back.

Jonn had to only say one word to make Green Arrow freeze in his tracks and make his heart skip a beat, "Brainiac."

* * *

The Kents were reclining on their separate exam tables next to each other. Lois was hooked up to a fetal monitoring system while Clark, who was still pale as a ghost, was receiving yellow sunlight from artificial lights above him. The fetal monitor produced the sound of the unborn child's heartbeat and that was all Lois needed to hear to know her baby was just fine. Clark stared at his wife weakly and smiled at the sound of the heartbeat that consumed the room. 

"Lois, the baby is fine and so are you. I recommend some much needed rest starting immediately though, you really should consider bed rest." The Martian manhunter looked from the pregnant lady on the exam table to her husband who occupied the table next to hers. "Clark, I am going to take you off the work rotation for a couple of weeks. The amount of kryptonite you were exposed to was phenomenal and has caused your immune system to slow down. I also recommend that you stay in bed along with your wife for the next couple of weeks until your strength increases."

"Now, I like the sound of that prescription. Just staying in bed with my husband. I know I can handle that," Lois shot a wide grin to Clark who smiled at her, but she could tell he was still weak as he hadn't said a single word or protested to Jonn for telling him to take time off. Seeing the state her husband was in made Lois nervous and fearful of his health.

"The world thinks that Clark has suffered from heat stroke and that his wife was comforting him. So far, the press hasn't been interested in that but in the fact a Justice League Javelin went rogue with some of the most influential political leaders of Earth aboard."

Lois glanced at her husband, but looked back at the Martian as he continued to speak, "however, I have been informed that you had prior commitments for tonight so I am allowing you two to have a quiet evening at Wayne Manor and once you are done there, I am requiring that you two stay in the watchtower for the next 2 to 3 days or until Superman is up to full strength. Ma and Pa Kent have called the Daily Planet to inform them that the two of you will be staying with them until Clark recovers and I think that would be the best place to go after you both regain some strength. Some country air would do all of you some good."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get ready for supper." Lois got off the exam table, removing the cords that had been monitoring her and the baby's heart rates, and made her way out the door and towards the quarters she shared with her husband when duty called.

"Never stand between a pregnant Lois and a free meal," Clark informed his friend and silently laid back onto the table and settled in for a powernap before they would head to Wayne Manor.


	5. Chapter 5: Miracle of Love

**NOTE:** I do not own any major characters, but a few minor haracters are my own. I am not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please read, review and let me know what you think. Thanks!

* * *

"Before you were conceived I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you. Before you were here an hour I would die for you. This is the miracle of love." Maureen Hawkins

* * *

Mid-June in Gotham City was always warm and humid, but this year, record highs were being shattered everyday. The same weather pattern was occurring in Metropolis as well and thanks to the unusually warm weather, no one was looking to hard at the sudden collapse of Clark Kent, The Dailey Planet report who had collapsed during the midday heat. The concern people were having was either towards the Javelin that had taken off by itself and the readers who had called into the Planet to make sure that Lois Lane-Kent was fine and the to know the baby was also fine. The Justice League was going to have Lois write a short article stating she and the baby were fine and Clark was also doing well, but they would be taking some much needed R&R before the birth of their child in August. 

Now, back at the Watchtower, staff and leaguers were working overtime to figure out what had happened. The media was having a heyday with the rogue Javelin and the League had responded to the world the cause was believed to be a malfunction in the navigation system, but the official cause would be announced once diagnostics had looked over the Javelin.

Not all members were at the Watchtower; three of the founding members were down on Earth. Bruce Wayne had invited Clark Kent and his wife over to Wayne Manor to discuss the arrangement for the Kents to purchase the house from the Waynes. When Bruce had invited the Kents last week, he never would have predicted the events that had occurred that afternoon. As Batman, he was extremely concerned about why the Javelin had gone rogue and what had brought Superman, in his alter ego, to his knees. On the flip side, as Bruce Wayne, he was worried about Clark's health and the well being of his wife and unborn child. Bruce had decided to have Jonn Jones download the data from the Javelin to the Batcave's computer so he could look it over after the Kents had returned to the Watchtower. After the events from today, Bruce knew the Kents wouldn't stay long and Clark wouldn't be up to the challenge of arguing with Bruce about the terms of purchase for the farmhouse and barn.

The heat from the day had carried over to the night and had forced the Kents and Waynes inside to the safety of Wayne Manor and the air conditioning unit that cooled the massive house. Within the living room of the manor, Clark and Bruce sat at the bar, enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade. Clark's face still lacked colors and the way he was slumped back into the bar chair's high back, Bruce could tell his friend was not fully recovered from the day's event and was weak.

On the overstuffed loveseat, Lois Lane-Kent and Diana Prince-Wayne sat facing each other. Lois wore a lavender sleeveless maternity dress that fell to her knees. Diana hadn't worn any summer dresses for a while and had a hard time finding a dress that wasn't tight across her midsection, but she had found a white strapless dress that fell to her shins and had a green floral pattern on the skirt.

"Do you have a preference whether the baby is a boy or girl?" Diana asked Lois. All day, Diana had been walking around in a daze after her encounter or dream with Hera. Diana knew the goddess had made contact with her, she knew that for sure, but she wasn't sure if that contact had been face to face or if Diana had encountered it in a dream. Diana hadn't informed anyone about what she had been told, in regards to the baby or what the future would hold for all of them. Right at that moment, she wanted to know more about pregnancy and what she could expect, but not come out and say she was pregnant.

Lois smiled at the Amazon princess and shook her head slowly from side to side. "It doesn't matter, it really doesn't. Just as long as he or she is healthy, I don't care if we have a boy or a girl. That way, we can keep trying for the other gender." Lois gave Diana a wink, bit her lower lip, and looked over at her husband who was talking with Bruce at the bar.

Diana looked towards her husband, but shot her left hand to her stomach and turned back towards Lois. "You two haven't . . you know . . done it since you found out you were pregnant? That can't be good to the baby."

"First question I asked Jonn when I found out. It won't hurt the baby, but Boy Scout over there refuses until after the baby is born." Lois stared the Amazon in the eyes and began to notice something was different with her from the last time she saw her a month earlier. Since Lois had arrived at the mansion, Diana was asking her questions about pregnancy and babies, something the two of them had never talked about before, even after Lois had announced that she was pregnant.

"Diana," before Lois could finish her question, Alfred entered the living room.

"Begging your pardons but supper is ready." With those words, Alfred moved to the side of the doorway as the couples exited the living room and made their way to the casual dining room.

The casual dining room was decorated in various shades of maroon and had a large marble fireplace that was situated in the middle of one wall. The regular sized oval dining table that could seat 10 people was prepared for 4 people in the middle. Both men pulled out the chairs for their wives and then settled in the chairs next to the women. The women were situated across from each other and the men were seated the same way.

Alfred placed bowls of salad in front of them. In between the couples, a single row of salad dressings were displaced for them to choose the one they preferred. As Clark and Bruce reached for their dressings, Lois looked sheepishly towards Alfred.

"Alfred, I don't mean to be a pest, but could you bring me some mustard and honey. And, I don't mean the stuff that is already mixed, I prefer to make my own." Lois said and looked towards Bruce who was cocking his left eyebrow at her. "Well, regular dressing just doesn't sound very appetizing right now. Besides, I have found that drizzling ranch over vanilla pecan ice cream really hits the spot for breakfast."

Bruce looked towards Clark, "I don't want to know what she is putting chocolate syrup on."

Diana looked at the row of salad dressings, but nothing sounded appetizing. Then, after listening to the request Lois had made, the sound of honey glazed over her lettuce sounded rather delicious.

"Alfred, can you please bring the Tupelo Honey Bruce brought back from Florida, that should go great with iceberg lettuce."

Alfred cocked his left eyebrow at the lady of the house but never forgetting his manners, replied, "very good Mistress Diana." With those words, Alfred headed towards the kitchen to retrieve the mustard and honey.

Alfred wasn't the only one giving Diana strange looks that night; Lois once again made another bewildered look at her. Something was up and Lois, being the reporter she was, was going to find out what was with Diana.

"So, Mrs. Prince-Wayne, how are you enjoying married life?" Clark asked Diana as he poured dressing onto his salad and glanced up at his fellow superhero. Before Bruce and her had married, Bruce used some of his acquaintances to create a secret identify for Diana so not to draw attention to her or to himself as well. Unlike the other two superheroes at the table, Diana had three identities. She was Wonder Woman of the Justice League, Princess Diana of the Amazons, and now Diana Prince or more recently Diana Prince-Wayne. Her latest identity had been Diana Prince, a well-respected expert of Greek/Mediterranean History and Culture at Gotham State University. With his connections, Bruce had planned it from the beginning that she would land a job at Gotham State University in their history and culture department teaching and the two of them would meet at an event and they would eventually get together like some happily ever after fairy-tale. Bruce had no problems coming up with 'fake' documentations about Diana and creating a paper trail of history so the media wouldn't get to suspicious when they would start researching her and not find a single thing, including a birth certificate.

"Oh, it is great and I do miss the Justice League and my short term as a college professor, but I knew I was only going to be teaching for a semester while they searched for a permanent replacement. Working for Wayne Foundations has helped me continue to give back to man's world. Though, I do have to say, nothing prepared me for marriage life, especially back on Themascara." Diana answered her friend as Alfred returned placing the bottles of honey and mustard in front of the ladies.

"If there isn't anything else, I shall be serving the main dish of quail in precisely 15 minutes. I shall return then to retrieve your salad bowls, replenish your refreshments, and serve the main dish." Alfred addressed the four dinners and once he was done, nodded his head and exited the room.

"Thank you Alfred." Bruce called back to the butler as he walked through the doorway. Bruce turned back towards Lois who was drenching her salad with mustard. Once she had covered all the lettuce with the yellow substance, she placed the bottle back on the table and then lightly drizzled the honey over her salad. As he watched this, Bruce made an appalled face towards Lois and then resumed eating his own salad.

Clark looked up at his friend. Since Clark was among friends, he had not worn his glasses to the manor and was dressed in his blue jeans and a sky blue denim shirt. With having a pregnant wife, he was not fazed by her strange cravings and had come to realize his ability to fly had come in handy when certain cravings for oriental foods came about.

"Your lucky, you should have seen what she was dipping in the peanut butter last night. I can handle disasters from all over the universe and growing up on the farm I saw some discussing stuff, but when she combined tuna fish and peanut butter, I thought I was going to heave." With his final words, Clark took a bite of the salad he had been holding on his fork and smiled over at his wife who was consuming her pile of yellow leaves.

Bruce smiled at the couple across from him and then turned to his right to look at his beautiful bride who was chomping down on her own sticky creation of lettuce and honey. He continued to smile at his wife, noticing for the first time, she seemed so happy and content, like the first time he had met her. She didn't seem to notice that he was staring at her like a schoolboy who had a crush on his teacher.

Bruce looked back at Clark and decided now would be the best time to bring up the reason they were here: the house.

"I had my lawyers draw up some papers for the purchase of the house. Just to let you know, I had someone give me an appraised price on the house along with the attached garage and the barn. So, I had my lawyers base that selling price on that appraisal."

"And, what was the appraisal price?" Lois asked between bites of her yellow lettuce. She was never one who tolerated people who would beat around the bush before they got to the truth.

"$175,000 was what they had come up with and I feel that is a reasonable price for the house with attached garage, barn, and 8 acres they occupy." Bruce gave the answer and resumed eating his salad as Clark finished chewing his previous bite and laid his fork down.

"That sounds fair, what would the interest be though?" Clark asked Bruce with out any hesitation in his voice.

"The interest would be for you and Lois to feed, water, and care for the horses we would be stabling on the property behind the barn. Now before you object, I talked to my accountants to determine how many hours a week two people would work to pay for a set interest of 5 and we have determined a way for you two to keep a record of your hours each week. And, in case you would be out of town for a week, we can compromise with other forms of in-kind service. If either of you feel like this is not fair, please let me know." Bruce addressed both of the Kents and never fumbled over the words he spoke.

"You know something Bruce, your not always right." Clark addressed his friend with a stern look and a serious tone. "But you are one hell of a liar and a friend." A massive grin swept across the farm boy's face. "I had it appraised to and I was told that it could go for anywhere between $300,000 - $450,000."

Bruce sighed at the fact his friend had found out the truth, but was relieved the man of steel wasn't angry or going to bite his head off, literally.

"After the events of today," Clark looked to Lois who was getting ready to spear the last bite of her salad but stopped with the fork in midair and looked him in the eye with a diplomatic smile on her face. "I am grateful Lois and myself have friends like you and Diana who care about us and the baby. If anything were to happen I know you two will always be there to help us."

"And I'm glad Clark has calmed down about the house and we can now focus on preparing for the baby. I was ecstatic when Bruce made the offer and if I weren't pregnant, I think I would have ducked him instead of hit him on that soar spot on his back." At the mention of her slapping his back, Bruce sucked in a sharp breath, but looked Lois in the eye as she talked. "Maybe pregnancy has made me soft, but when your pregnant you feel like, I don't know how to explain it." Lois looked from Clark to Bruce trying to figure out how to explain to these two men what emotions she felt being pregnant.

"You feel like you are protecting the world's greatest secret, the strongest being in the world, but at the same time, a being that is so delicate that you think something bad will come when you simply sneeze." Diana filled in the words Lois was looking for and Lois noticed that Diana had finished her salad and had placed her salad fork in the bowl. She also noticed that Diana had both of her hands holding her stomach, but she wasn't holding her stomach like she was sick, rather like she was protecting something underneath.

"OH MY GOD," Lois dropped her fork and it made a loud clank as it came in contact with the hand painted salad bowl. "You're pregnant." Lois' eyes were about to bug out of their sockets as she looked at the princess who sat across from her.

Diana looked back at Lois, rather shocked that she had figured it out. Then again with Lois' ability to get to the heart of the story, it was no surprise she had figured it out. Diana looked towards her husband; the look on Bruce's face was panicky. He knew how sensitive the topic of pregnancy and babies was with Diana. He had asked Diana if inviting the Kents over for supper would make her uncomfortable and if she was okay with them coming over. She had told him they were friends and their house was always open to friends.

"Lois, that isn't possible since," Bruce was interrupted before he could finish his statement.

"Actually," Diana had opened her handbag and pulled out a gift case that was designed to hold pens or pencils and placed it in front of Bruce.

Bruce slowly lifted the lid from the box, placed the lid to the side of his salad bowl, and stared stoned faced at the pregnancy test that had a pink dot next to the PREGNANT label.

"She is correct. I am pregnant, three months along to be exact." Diana was smiling at Bruce and shot a glance over at Clark who was in utter shock at what he had just learned. Diana shifted her glance back to Bruce who had picked up the box, was sliding his chair back, stood up and walked towards the fireplace. The whole time, Bruce hadn't taken his eyes of the pregnancy test in the box until he stopped in front of the mantle and looked up and turned his head towards the family portrait of him and his parents that hung above the fireplace. Bruce just stared at the portrait, lost in thought.

Diana looked from where Bruce stood to Lois and Clark. Lois nodded her head in the direction of the Billionaire and Clark gave Diana thumbs up, showing her his support and in his own way telling her congratulating her. Diana gave both of them a shy smile, scooted her chair back, and rose to her full height and walked to stand no more than 2 feet from her husband. She outstretched her right hand toward his right shoulder, but pulled it back in fear she would startle him.

"Bruce, please say something. I know what Jonn told us, but last night Hera came to me and told me I was pregnant so I went with Alfred shopping this morning and bought the pregnancy test while he was busy picking out the quail for tonight's dinner." Diana talked to her husband whose back was still to her, but his face and eyes were focused on the last family portrait taken of him and his parents.

Cautiously, Bruce set the box on the mantle and turned towards his left to face his wife. When he saw her standing there, glowing the same way Lois had been glowing when he saw her last week at the real estate agent's office, he felt his heart soar with a feeling of happiness he had not felt in so many years.

Bruce walked towards Diana and with one quick movement, scooped Diana up like a groom would to carry his new bride over the threshold. "We're going to be parents. I can't believe it." With those words, Bruce twirled Diana around two times before stopping and passionately kissing his wife on the lips. "Having a child of my own is a miracle, but having a baby with the woman I am madly in love with is astonishing." They resumed their kiss and forgot for a fleeting moment where they were.

Their kiss was broken with the sound of glass shattering and water splashing across the wood floor. Bruce and Diana both snapped their heads at the same time in the direction where the noise had come from. At the doorway to the casual dining room, Alfred stood with a perplexed look on his face and seemed not to care he had dropped a glass water pitcher or the water that now pooled around his feet.

"Alfred," Bruce addressed his sergeant father as he returned Diana to her feet.

As soon as she was back on her feet, Diana walked towards the butler. "Alfred, are you alright?" She approached the aging butler and placed a caring hand on his shoulder.

"Begging your pardon Mistress Diana, but I didn't mean to over hear the conversation. I wanted to make sure you and Mrs. Kent had plenty of water to go with your vibrant salads and" Alfred began to come out of this trance and a wide grin began to spread across his face. His eyes began to sparkle with enchantment. "Is it true? Will we be celebrating the arrival of a new member of the Wayne family?"

Diana placed her right hand that had been on the butler's shoulders on her midsection and nodded with a gratifying grin upon her face. Bruce had walked up to Diana's left side and put a caring hand on her right shoulder.

"Yes Alfred, it is true." Diana answered.

Tears began to flow from the butler's eyes, but they were tears of joy similar to the tears he had shed when he walked Diana down the aisle. Without realizing what he was doing, Alfred engulfed the princess in a warm hug and looked over to her husband.

"You sure do know how to make an old man cry and to make him feel like the luckiest man in the world." Alfred answered the glowing Amazon as he pulled away from the hug and addressed the gentleman he had watched grow up from a baby to the strapping man he was today. "Master Bruce, I know your parents would be proud of you and they would both be ecstatic to know that you were going to make them grandparents"

"You know Alfred, I owe you so much. So how does the title of Grandpa make you feel," Bruce asked.

"Why, her royal highness couldn't bestow any title upon me more meaningful than Grandpa. I except this title with great honor." Alfred answered.

From the dinning table, Lois had finished up her salad and was excusing herself from the table. As she walked past Clark, she noticed he had started to arise from his chair but dizziness began to overtake him and he returned to the chair holding his head with his hands.

"CLARK," Lois cried out as she turned towards her husband.

At hearing the commotion, the three people near the doorway turned and lead by Bruce, came to the aid of Clark Kent. The three of them stood next to Lois who was looking down at her husband.

"I'm fine, really. I am still week from what happened earlier this afternoon." Clark reassured the rest of his fellow diners and gestured toward the dinner table. "Please, why don't we finish this wonderful meal."

The other three dinners made their way back to their chairs in silence as Alfred went back to the kitchen. In a few moments, Alfred was back with a dinning cart that held four dinner trays that were covered and two pitchers of ice water.

"Diana, how did you find out you were pregnant?" Lois asked as Alfred placed a dinner plate with quail and fresh vegetables in front of her. Lois looked down at the meal, but as she went for her fork, she remembered her manors to wait till everyone at the table was served and pulled her hand back.

"Hera came to me. I don't know if she came to me in a dream or if she gave me the news in person. You see, after we came back from the Watchtower the night Rex was born, I prayed to Hera to give me a child of my own even if it meant that I would loose my mortality. At that moment, Hera took away my mortality and gave me the ability to have a child. " As Diana spoke, Alfred had finished placing the main course in front of all the dinners. As he finished, he stood at the head of the table; he was still astounded at the news his master and mistress had told him.

"Do you truly believe that this person was who she claimed to be?" Lois asked with skepticism thick in her voice.

Diana shot Lois a foul look, but before she could say anything, Bruce spoke up.

"Lois, trust me when I say that there really are Greek gods and goddesses. Clark and I have had the privilege of meeting a few." Bruce addressed the cunning report.

"Dear, Bruce is right." Clark piped in. "Diana is proof of that. Her mother molded her out of clay and was then blessed with her gifts by the Greek gods and goddesses." Clark looked to Diana, "did Hera tell you anything else?"

"Yes, she informed me that I was three months along and that my child and if we are blessed with future children will poses the powers that were bestowed upon me, but will be mortal." Diana answered and then began to take a bite from her plate.

"How wonderful, we will have a Christmas baby," announced Alfred as he looked to his master. "For, if Mrs. Diana is three months pregnant and it is June right now, we will have so much to be thankful for come the holiday season." Alfred collected the salad bowls and made his way to the kitchen, humming a lullaby to himself.

As Diana chewed her dinner, she suddenly stopped and put her fork down as she recalled what other news the goddess had bestowed upon her. Bruce looked over at his wife with a concerned face.

"What's wrong Diana," her husband asked.

"She also told me that a war between good and evil is upon us, foes from the past are joining forces, and many close to us will die." Diana's eyes began to widen as she remembered what the goddess had told her. She had been consumed with the thoughts of having a child of her own, but the other words the goddess had told her were beginning to sink in as she sat among family and friends. "Many close to me will die, but they shall not die in vane. The war is coming and we will be tricked into thinking good has won, but when we have our guards down, evil will rise again. She told me she was unable to determine who will win. She didn't know if good will be triumphant or if evil would be victorious."

"The war has begun," Clark stated to Diana and then looked towards Bruce. "I need to know what happened to me today. Their was no kryptonite around me so why did I become so weak, I've never been so weak in my life. Either there was a large amount of kryptonite at the site that was well hidden or someone has found another weapon that is as lethal as kryptonite on myself. I need to know what was used and how I can protect myself and my family."

"If this war has begun, we need to determine who is behind this. The first thing we need to do is review the footage that was taken today. Jonn and the others have been going over the Javelin's computer that was possessed. I instructed Jonn to download the files into the bat cave's computer and I will look over those files tonight." Bruce explained as he held his water glass and finally took a sip.

"Speaking of Jonn," Lois piped in, "Diana, you will need to go see him tomorrow. He has been a great doctor to me." When Lois had found out she was pregnant, Clark advised her to go and see Jonn Jones for her and the baby's medical care. Once again, Bruce's influences would come into play and when the Kent's baby came, he would provide the proper documentation showing the child was born in an actual hospital and not the Justice League Watchtower.

"I will. It will also be a great chance to see everyone as well. I haven't seen Shayera or Rex for over a month. I bet he has grown." Diana stated to Lois and then looked to Bruce. "Do you want to start telling people the good news right away or wait."

Bruce smiled at her, "lets wait till after your meeting with Jonn. I think it would be best if we tell everyone at once instead of telling a select few here and there." Bruce looked to the couple across from him and his wife. "So that means no one else is to know about this. This is off the record, did you hear me Lois?"

Lois was enjoying the quail, but once she saw Bruce look straight and say her name, she swallowed quickly. "Hey, I know what is on the record and off the record. As long as I get an exclusive from Gotham's favorite couple on the upcoming birth of their child, my lips are sealed."

"I never gave that a thought, what will we tell the people of Earth? Wonder Woman is pregnant or that Diana Prince-Wayne is pregnant or that Wonder Woman and Diana Prince-Wayne are one and the same." Diana was becoming worried, she hadn't thought this far into being pregnant and her secret identity.

"We are not going to say Wonder Woman is pregnant. We will announce that Diana Prince-Wayne is pregnant though. Your secret identity must remain intact. If a certain god would find out the truth I don't want to even begin to think what would happen," Bruce's voice echoed in Diana's head as she began to realize how important her identity was not only to her safety, but also to the safety of the child she carried in her womb.

The couples resumed their main entrée in peace while their minds tried to digest the information they had received. As he ate, Bruce wasn't going to let one item of business just slip away.

"You know," Bruce began as he began to butter a roll, "July 4th is on a Saturday this year and that would be a great time for you two to move into your new home. So, what do you say? After were done here, we go to the study for the Kents to sign those papers and receive the keys to their new home."

"As long as the Wayne's provide the food, I say lets go for it," Lois looked over at her husband.

"I have no objections, but we should return to the Watchtower. It has been a long day and I'm ready to crash and to bask in some more of Jonn's artificial lights." Clark proclaimed as he stood up to stretch.

Clark's example was followed in suit by the others and the couples soon made their way to the study where the Kents read over the papers they were to sign carefully. After sometime of reading the papers and discussing their thoughts with each other, Clark and Lois signed the papers. Bruce also signed the forms and handed Clark the keys to the house, garage, and barn. With a stern handshake between Bruce and Clark and a hug between Diana and Lois, the Kents were tansported to the Watchtower.

Once the Kents were gone, Diana hugged her husband and softly kissed his check. "Don't stay up to late." Diana whispered in his ear and made her way up to the master bedroom. Before leaving the study, she turned towards Bruce one last time, "we'll be waiting for you."

"I just want to look over what Jonn sent me and make sure Tim gets in safe and sound. I'll be up in less than an hour." With those words, Bruce opened the clock to reveal the secret staircase that led from the mansion to the Batcave. As he made his way to the Bat-computer, he found himself humming the same lullaby Alfred had been humming when he took the salad bowls to the kitchen.

The chair in front of the bat computer was extremely comfortable as Bruce sat down and began to type commands on the keyboard. From the commands he gave the computer, the video from the press conference came up on the screen and with some extra commands, Bruce was able to zoom into the area where Lois and Clark stood. He watched in silence as his friend began to sweet and collapsed to his knees. Bruce paused the frame at the point where Clark was down on his knees with Lois kneeling next to him, right before Green Lantern engulfed them in his green light. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, so what was causing Clark to become weak and the child Lois carried to stop moving and the child's heart rate to drop dangerously low.

With a few more taps on the keyboard, the readouts from the rogue Javelin came up on the scream. Bruce leaned forward and his eyes began to widen. Encrypted in the codes of the Javelin were scripts that were not human, but belonged to a civilization that had long since vanished: Kryton. Jonn was right, the information encrypted in the software was that of Kryptonian origins and that only meant one being: Brainiac.

The sound of the Batmobile meant that Tim Drake, the newest Robin, was coming home from his nightly patrol. Bruce began to shut down the computer and made a mental note to talk to Jonn about this tomorrow. As he stood up and made his way to greet Tim, he thought back to Diana's words about the war between good and evil. Who would win this battle? Who would he loose close to him? He loved his family too much to loose any member of his family. He was going to protect them at any cost.


	6. Chapter 6: Revenge

**NOTE:** I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please read, review and let me know what you think. Thanks!

* * *

"It is a revenge the devil sometimes takes upon the virtuous, that he entraps them by the force of the very passion they have suppressed and think themselves superior to." George Santayana

* * *

Hades considered himself a generous and patient god; he expected his minions to do his bidding, when he would ask them to jump, he expected them to ask how high. Was it to much for him to ask his minions to murder the Earth's beloved Man of Steel? It must have been, for the task was still not complete. Hades knew Lex Luthor despised Superman and figured giving him and Darkseid enough Kryptonite to kill 10 Kryptonians would have been more than enough for a victory. Hades was disappointed and you never wanted to see Hades disappointed and Lex Luthor was learning that lesson the hard way.

Lord Hades stood upon a ledge that jetted out of the bank upon a lava river. His cape blew in the breeze and his dark hair was being teased by the updrafts coming off the waves of lava. His right hand was in a death grip around the throat of Lex Luthor who he held above the river of certain death for the measly mortal. With a stone, he stared blankly at the man trying frantically to get free of his grip.

"I bag you Hades, don't do this. I have valuable information that can help us with our quest to destroy the justice league once and for all." Luthor mandated as he struggled like a worm on the end of a fishing pole.

A wicked smile eclipsed across Hades' lips and he brought the mortal towards his face. The tongue of a serpent slipped out of Hades' lips and tickled the side of Luthor's face as the bald man came ever closer.

"What could you possibly say that would make me spare your pathetic life? I give you one simple task to take care of and the means to accomplish it. You screw it up even worse than Pandora did opening her box. Spit out your pathetic information before I make you a permanent resident of my sovereignty. " Fire burned in Hades' eyes as he spoke those words and stared Luthor not in the eye, but in the soul.

Hades had watched the day's event from the mirror he was able to view activities of the mortal world only for a few moments at a time, but he was able to see Luthor get cold feet. As he watched Luthor retreat and signal to him that he was ready to return to Hades' realm. The Greek god became so enraged he smashed the mirror Ares had stolen from the Fates as a way for his friend in arms to watch the demise of the Justice League.

The moment Luthor stepped back into the realm of the dead, he noticed that he and Darkseid were in an unfamiliar and extremely warm region. Before Luthor, who along with Darkseid had reverted back to their normal forms, could properly react to the surroundings, he was ambushed by Hades who then picked the bewildered human up by the throat and suspended him over the lava river.

As perspiration streamed down Luthor's face, he opened his mouth but mere squeaks came out. In all his life, Luthor had never been speechless or as scared as he was at that moment. He continued to move his lips with no words being uttered. With a feeling of dread, Luthor looked below his feet at the lava river some 10 feet below him.

"You better speak before you go splat," Hades slurred his S's as his tongue danced around Luthor's face and his grip began to relax on his victims throat.

"Superman has been living among the Earth's humans as Clark Kent. I suspect with Superman having a human identity, so do the other members of the Justice League." Luthor finally informed the dark lord.

The fire within Hades' eyes vanished and with one smooth heave, threw the squirming villain over his head. Luthor's eyes widened the moment he became air borne but before he could beg for help, a sphere of fire engulfed him and with some adjustments to his flight path, the villain landed smoothly next to Darkseid. Once his feet were back on solid ground, Luthor composed himself by dusting off his suit and adjusting his tie.

"This is indeed valuable information," Ares' voice boomed from all directions and with out forewarning, a flame formed next to Hades and took the shape of the god of war. "Then again, how can we be sure you tell the truth? You are a scientist Luthor, how do you know this hypothesis of yours to be factual?"

With one final adjustment to the knot on his tie, Luthor addressed the god as he would a member of the board of directors for his company. "For the last two years we have been reading every article that has be written about the members of the Justice League and who would write most of those articles but Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Thanks to your abilities to obtain the newspapers, I have been keeping an eye on the reporters who report on the league and who seem to have abnormally close connections to them as well. While reading the newspapers, I came across a write up about Mr. Kent marrying Miss Lane and though I never thought much of it at the time, it was the first thing I thought about when is saw Mr. Kent fall to his knees. Then, we I noticed Lois Lane-Kent in her delicate condition and the way she also reacted to the kryptonite it was only a matter of time before I put one and one together."

"This future child is what will be the demise of the blasted Kryptonian." Darkseid addressed the gods with out asking for their permission to do so, "I want nothing more than to see Superman die, but I want him to die slowly and watch those he loves die before his very eyes before we go in for the final blow. Grant me permission to kill the child in front of him, wait a while for his anger and regret to blind him of everything else around him, and then kill him a final battle hand to hand."

Hades flicked his wrist, snapping at the same time. In a blink of the eye, they group was back in Hades' library and were once again seated around the long table. Hades sat at the head with Ares standing to his right. Luthor was seated on his left side and Darkseid sat on the right. They were not alone, tormented souls and foul looking creatures were scattered around the massive room.

"Leave us," was all Hades had to say. Like panicked wild beasts, the patrons of the library headed to the nearest exit and once they were out, the doors slammed shut behind them.

Hades, who had been staring straight ahead, looked towards the Lord of Apocalypse. "I grant you your request."

Darkseid smiled and nodded at the god. He looked across the table and shot a victorious grin towards his cohort.

"Now then," Hades looked from Darkseid to Luthor. "We need to reformat our plan."

At the mention of reformat, Luthor realized that one member of the team was not present or had been accounted for.

"Where's Brainiac? You didn't forget about him?" Luthor questioned the god.

"I am sorry to say," Ares answered, "Brainiac was lost in battle. The Justice League's computer detected him earlier than we thought and terminated his program. Before I could collect his shell to bring back, security ambushed the building and destroyed his exoskeleton with bullets and torches. When I went back, their was nothing left, but I fear the Justice League were the ones who knew how to melt his body so they must have given security the proper equipment to destroy his shell. We shall not let his death be in vane, we will bring the league down for this disrespect of life."

Hades nodded, a somber look on his face. The lie would enrage Luthor to go after the Justice League in order to have his revenge on them for destroying his walking, talking computer. Ares had done his job well; they didn't need to know that Ares had severed the connection cord between Brainiac and the master computer. That was only a minor detail.

The plan was working beautifully, even if it had gone off course. His newest minions had discovered information that was indeed valuable to their mission. If Superman had a secret identity, then the other members must as well. His thoughts weren't consumed by Superman, but on another member of the original founders of the Justice League who he knew must also have an alias.

"The calm before the storm will start. The League knows that someone or some group is possing a theat to the them and they won't stop till they know why." Hades said as he looked from his left to his right, "As we speak, they are probably reviewing the dealings that occurred today in detail, especially the Gotham _**detective**_." Luthor looked at Hades when he mentioned detective and red flags went up. Maybe it was to do with the way he said that word, but their was also a sense of dislike for the Dark Knight of Gotham. "We will send you two back to the mortal realm with new identities in a few days. You are to find where the Kents live and report back to me."

Luthor began to speak by opening his mouth and raising his hand with his pointer finger erected. Hades looked to the buffoon seated at his left. "YOU WILL DO NOTHING. I am the one who is bestowing these identities that you will need to get around among the humans; I am the one who is in command. I am the one who can take your pitiable life away with the slightest thought. Do you understand me Luthor?" Hades fumed at him.

"I understand." Luthor answered, never breaking eye contact with the god.

"If there are no more questions, you are dismissed. You may retire to your quarters." Ares interjected.

With out a word, Darkseid and Luthor stood up and exited the room through the double doors.

After the door closed behind them, Ares looked down at the other god who had propped his left arm on the table and was rubbing his temples with his left hand. Falling into the seat situated to the right of Hades, Ares looked at his fellow god.

"You are thinking about her again, aren't you?" Ares knew the princess of the Amazons was on his mind more and more these days. After his last encounter with his estranged daughter, Hades had become inebriated with his daughter. He began to keep tabs on her battles and the rumors of her and Batman. After seeing one picture, he could tell his daughter was in love with this mortal by look she got in her eyes. He knew, by the way the man returned her gaze, this so-called caped crusader was falling hard for the beautiful Amazon.

"I keep reading that Wonder Woman is off on some diplomatic trip to save two worlds from a bloody civil war and yet, I know she is still on Earth; I need to know where." Hades looked to his friend. "She is my child and the only way I can seek revenge on her mother. She carries my mane of raven hair, but when I look in to her eyes, I see the eyes of her mother." Hades trailed off as he broke eye contact with blonde haired god and looked forward, reminiscing about his courtship with the Amazon Queen and the aftermath that came after his true colors were shown. "We were both made prisoners, I was sent here permanently but her punishment was to guard the entrance to my kingdom and to reward her, they bring the child of clay we created together to life. Hippolyta knows nothing about suffering and I want her to know what it feels like"

"Why do you care about this now? You've known for years she was yours, why didn't you do anything then?" Ares questioned, rage seeping out through the words directed at the god of the underworld.

Hades had asked the question to himself day after miserable day. He wanted to seek revenge on the woman he still loved and since she didn't love him in return, why should she be allowed to live on her tropical paradise with her fellow Amazons? Why couldn't she join him in his world of suffering and darkness as one his slaves for eternity?

"The Amazon Queen is already miserable, her only daughter is vanished from ever returning to Themascarya. Along with that, it pains her to know that her beloved child is in love with a man and not any man, a mere mortal who has no powers or favor with the gods and goddesses. Then again, that is not enough misery, she must loose her daughter permanently to know what it is like to live with the one you truly love." Hades licked his lips and continued, "we will be united again, me and my daughter."

"What do you want? Do you just want her to come running in here and leap into your arms like a five year old and call you daddy? That is not going to happen and you know it. She despises you, just as her mother does." Ares looked towards the fireplace.

"Diana isn't as angelic as everyone thinks. When I first encountered her, I felt an overwhelming presence of good and serenity within her. However, as I have paid closer attention to her in recent years and taken a good, long look into her soul, I discovered that she has a temper that she can control, but to a point. I have seen her face in the pictures on the news scrolls when she is in battle, she does indeed fight with honor but she also has hatred that I know can be released with the right combination of events. Events such as those she loves and are close to her dying in front of her very eyes, the same damn eyes that her mother looked upon me with all those millennia ago."

"Find out Diana's so called secret identity and locate her. Use her as live bait to coax Hippolyta off her island. Once she is off the island she is vulnerable to anything the gods or goddesses leash out at her. And what you do with her from there is your business, not mine but I would enjoy the details." Ares voiced his idea for the course of action and turned back to the dark haired god, a raunchy gleam flickered in the eyes of both gods.

Lex Luthor was kneeling next to the slit that divided the two doors and had over heard the whole conversation. Working with Meta-humans, Luthor knew you have to find their weakness in order to make sure they don't assume too much to overthrow him. Now, he knew Hades, god of the underworld and dead, had one and Luthor was going to fight fire with fire.

Smiling at what he had achieved, Luthor returned to his full height and walked away from the door. He folded his hands behind his back and walked away, heading nowhere in particular.


	7. Chapter 7: Interesting Times

**NOTE: **I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am also not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please read, review and let me know what you think. Thanks!

* * *

"May you live in interesting times." Ancient Chinese Curse

* * *

The country breeze impishly played with the dark locks of Diana Wayne and Lois Kent. The expectant mothers stood next to the fence line where four of Diana's mares had come to greet them. Diana and Bruce had not told anyone they were expecting, the only people who knew were the Kents, Alfred, Jonn Jones, and the horses who had become confidants to the secrets and dilemmas Diana told them when she was around them.

Diana wore a spaghetti strapped red top with white Capri pants and red, white and blue tennis shoes. Lois, who was starting to feel uncomfortable as her due date approached, was in a navy tank top that was splattered with paint and faded maternity jeans. On her feet were a pair of black Crocs since her feet were so swollen she couldn't fit into any of her other shoes.

They were scheduled to move into their house weeks ago, but Clark had taken a while longer to recover than originally anticipated. Now, over a month after signing on the doted line for the house, the Kents had finally finished painting and were moving in, with the help of some friends. Tim, who was on break from school, was working for the Kents helping them paint the inside of the house, assist Clark with the maintenance, and show Lois the ropes to work with horses. Lois was a leery about getting in the corrals with the horses, but had decided to stay on the outside and watch. As clumsy as she had been lately, she didn't want to chance anything around the horses.

Then again, Diana had been spending more time with the horses, but they were her horses and she knew how they acted. Lois knew that being around these magnificent creates was a way for Diana to vent about things and to share her joys about pregnancy with someone other than Bruce. Who better to talk about motherhood with than with the four breeding mares that were stabled behind the Kent's house. Lois had also come to love the animals and talk with them as well. She had learned their names and traits quickly.

Gaea was the palomino mare who was the oldest of the group. At her side was a dark palomino filly who Lois had named Mischief because she was the one who was always getting out of the paddock and raising havoc in the garden Clark had been working on. Next was Galatea, the pure white mare who was by far the most gorgeous of the mares. At her side was a gray colt who she had referred to as Ghost because he was so quiet when he came up be hind her one day when she was walking around the pasture that she almost had a heart attack when she turned around and their he stood. He was the calmest of all the foals and after she told Diana and Bruce the story, Bruce decided to call him Gray Ghost in honor of his childhood hero.

Next in line from left to right stood Odessa who looked like Black Beauty from the book Lois had read when she was a child. The mare was all black except for the star on her forehead and the four white socks on her legs. The hearty eater among the mares, Odessa's colt was the oldest and also a bit bossy to the other foals due to his size, she referred to him as Dynamic. He was also a mirror image of his mother except his socks went up past his knees. The final mare was Andromeda, who Lois had come to adore. It was probably due to the fact Andromeda was the only one of the mares who came up to Lois when they first arrived and let her pet her and her filly Gabby who always answered Lois when she called. Gabby was a tan color while her mother was a dark brown.

"They really are beautiful. I understand why so many girls, including myself, want one when they are young." Lois said as she stroked Andromeda's mane and fed her an apple from the basked they had brought down with them to feed the horses.

"They are great listeners as well." Diana answered. She had thrown her arms around Gaea in a big hug and rested her head on the side of the mare's muscular neck. She pulled away and looked towards the other woman. They had been helping where they could with the moving, but both of their husbands had told them to take it easy and not to over do it. Diana and Bruce had decided that tonight would be the night to let everyone in on the upcoming arrival of the baby since the only ones present were the original members, baby Rex, Tim, Dick, and Barbara. These were all people they both trusted and felt needed to know. Diana hadn't told her mother yet and she knew she would have to eventually. How she was going to do that was another dilemma.

"I am also glad they are in good hands. I will be honest Lois, I didn't know how well you would take to looking after them, but you seem to be doing just fine. In fact, how about next spring I teach you to ride Andromeda? She isn't old, but we don't want to breed her again because of the problems she had with her last two foals. What do you say Lois? It would be a great time." Diana with drew from Gaea and leaned against the rail of the fence.

Lois sighed as she looked down at the empty basket on the ground that had been full of apples only minutes before. How was she going to bend down to pick the basket up now? "If I ever have this baby that sounds like a great idea."

Diana, who was still able to bend, picked up the basket and handed it back to Lois. "Lets get back to the house. The guys should have the barbecue up and going and Rex will be up from his nap." With that the two women turned around and headed towards house that sat only a few hundred feet behind them. As they marched across the lawn, both were spooked by the high-pitched neigh of the other horse in the pasture next to the mares. Goliath didn't belong to the Waynes, but his owner was on the Board of Directors for Wayne Industries and had asked Bruce if he could board the stallion at one of their stables and Bruce said yes. The stallion was pure black and was not the friendliest animal in the world.

Diana reached into her left pocket, retrieved an apple and heaved it over the stallion's head. The stallion just stared at them and then casually walked off in the direction where the apple ha landed.

"How much longer will he be here?" Lois asked bluntly with out taking her eyes off the horse.

"You have nothing to worry about, he will be leaving for Florida the first part of September. He is just frazzled because he is in a new environment and you ignore him all the time." Diana looked to the stallion but then returned her eyes to the farmhouse where smoke was coming from the grill and the smell of food made her step up the pace. She was hungry and she was eating for two now, she had to keep up on her meals. Once Lois caught the smell of burgers and hot dogs being roasted over a hickory fire, she took her eyes off the stallion, quickened her pace so she was right along side Diana.

"I swear he has it out for me. But, the sooner he leaves the better. Besides, how he acts, you would think he had a small Goliath jr. on him." Lois stated just before they reached the stairs to the front porch. Diana shot Lois a bewildered look, not understanding what a Goliath jr. was but her facial expression changed when she saw Shayera come out of the screen door with Rex in her arms.

Rex was four months old now and had the cutest smile. He had dark hair like his dad, his skin tone was a beautiful bronze, and his emerald eyes were identical to his mother's own eyes. The eyes weren't the only thing he had inherited from his mother; on his back was a pair of cherub wings. Jonn had done some analyzing and had informed the parents that even though he did have wings, they wouldn't be strong enough to support his body weight in flight and as he grew up, they would have to find a way to enhance the strength of his natural wings. For right now, they weren't worried and knew that as he got a little older, they would have to look into it so he could start flying at a young age and learn how to use his wings.

Diana walked up the three steps, with her arms wide opened. Shayera saw her friend and placed her little angle in the warm arms of the Amazon. Rex squealed with delight as he looked up at Diana and grasped onto a lock of her hair. He looked adorable in his blue onesie and matching booties.

Diana looked the babe in the eyes as she made her way towards the porch swing where her husband sat. Jonn Jones, who had shifted into this Justice League form, had been sitting next to him, but stood up at once to make way for his friend. Jonn made his way over to his own wife, Kaya Jones. The petite Chinese lady smiled lovingly at her husband and then returned her gaze on Diana and Bruce. Kaya was in her early 50's, was widowed at a young age with 2 children, and lived in San Francisco where her and her two children ran the family business. While Kaya knew Jonn's secret, her children were in the dark about his true identity, but they adored him and the way he treated their mother.

Diana looked up at Bruce and nodded her head and he nodded back at her. He looked towards their friends and family who were all gather on or around the porch. Clark and John Stewart had finished barbecuing and had placed the food on the first card table that was followed in suit by 3 other tables to form a buffet line. The two men were making their way up the stairs when Bruce cleared his through to make known he needed to say something.

"First of all, I would like to thank all of you for coming out and making this possible, I know Clark and Lois appreciate it as well," he gestured with his head towards Clark and Lois who were standing next to each other on his right. "Not to take this special day away from them, Diana and I would like to make an announcement,"

"You're going to buy Tim a new Camaro," Tim piped in from where he sat on the railing of the porch and was supporting himself by holding onto the post that connected the railings of the stairs to the railings on the porch. To his right, Dick was propped up against the rail with Barbra at his side. With out hesitation, Dick smacked the young sidekick on the back of his head for interrupting their tutor's announcement. Tim rubbed his head vigorously and let out a simple 'ouch' as he gave his version of the bat glare to his bro.

"Tim, Dick please mine yourselves." Diana told the boys with out even glancing over at them.

"Actually, Tim, this does concern you." Bruce replied to the teenager. With those words, Tim straightened up and looked towards his mentor, holding his chest out as if her were about to receive a medal.

"I offered this option to Dick when he was your age, but he said no." Bruce continued with a caring voice. "I would like to offer you the chance to become more than my ward, but my son and to take Wayne as your official surname. What do you say"

For the first time that day, Tim was speechless and drew a blank look on his once smiling face. He slipped off the railing and made his way towards Bruce. He was almost stomping as he walked across the porch and past the other members of the Justice League. All of them followed him with their eyes and became concerned by the fact he was making a hard fist as he walked towards his foster father. At last he was face to face with Bruce who hadn't flinched once since he had made his announcement. Tim raised his right arm and the fist he had created.

Lois and Shayera both gasped at the sight. Without warning, Tim flung himself at Bruce and gave Batman the biggest bear hug he could muster. He had been working since 5 a.m., he was dragging a bit but he found he now had a second wind.

"YES! I want to be part of your family." He pulled out of the hug and looked Bruce in the eye and then smiled over at Diana. "Can I call you mom and dad?" Diana, who was smiling, nodded her head to answer yes.

Tim's eyes became mischievous again, "then, can I call you mommy and daddy?"

"No, but you can teach your new brother or sister to say that when he or she arrives in December." Diana answered as she looked at Tim.

"You guys are going to adopt another kid?" Tim stated as he looked from Diana and back to Bruce.

"No, Diana is pregnant." Bruce answered. With those words, the rest of the Justice League and their spouses looked to Diana in disbelief except for Jonn, Kaya, Clark, Lois, and Shayera.

"I am due the last part of December, right around New Years Eve." Diana told her son.

"No way," shouted Wally West who was standing on the opposite side of the porch from the Waynes. Next to him stood his new bride, Linda West who was opened mouthed and shocked at what she heard. The Wests had eloped to Las Vegas for what Flash had referred to as a "speedy wedding" on July 4th.

"It is true, Diana is 4 months along and the baby seems to be doing fine, even if she won't let me do an ultra sound." Jonn answered as he looked at the glowing Diana.

"Wow, I hardly believed it when Batman got married and now he is going to be a father. I don't believe it." John Stewart still had a bemused look on his face from where he stood on the top step of the porch. "You really must be Wonder Woman to be able to do all of this in less than a year."

Lois stepped forward and looked around at the fellow leaguers, "we are all happy for Bruce and Diana, but please us expectant and nursing mothers need to eat. So, move it people chop-chop." Lois clapped her hands and made her way towards the buffet table.

Shayera stepped forward as Diana began to stand up and handed the child off to his mother. "You weren't surprised to find out I was pregnant, why?"

"Because," Shayera stated as she held her son and looked up at her friend. "For the past month now, you have been glowing like a florescent light bulb and asking me all those questions about pregnancy, it was oh so obvious." The two friends smiled at one and other and made their way to the buffet line.

Wally looked at Linda with a wild grin on his face, "who know, just say the word and we could," before Wally could finish Linda gave him a passionate kiss.

"Honey, I've already had a child." Linda answered him as she pulled away from his lips.

The speedster's checks flushed, "you . . . you do?"

"Yeah, it's called my husband. I have to feed you, tell you to pick up after yourself, and even do your laundry," with that, Linda walked towards the buffet table. Barbara and Dick who had been standing next to them both began to laugh. Wally looked at them and then walked off after his wife.

"Just you wait Nightwing, you won't think this is funny when you become Mr. Batgirl." Wally shot at his friend. Dick stopped laughing and looked at Barbara who smiling at her boyfriend. This was one subject he had been trying to avoid ever since she had caught that stupid bouquet at the wedding 6 months ago. He shot Babs a nervous grin and made a dash towards the food.

Babs shrugged her shoulders and followed him. Deep in her heart, she knew he was the one and Diana had informed her to be patient, the time wasn't right yet. She decided taking advice from the woman who had married Batman was far better than anything she had read in the dating advice columns of her magazines.

Everyone had finished their meal and were congregating on the porch once again. During the meal, everyone had come up and given their words of congratulations for the news to Diana and Bruce. Bruce had even smiled when Wally said he couldn't wait to meet the new little 'wonder bat' or would be overjoyed to baby-sit. Linda agreed that if the Waynes ever wanted some alone time, the Wests would love to take care of the little tike. Babs, Dick, and Tim were all ecstatic about the news and hugged Diana with such tenderness that she almost cried. Dick started to shake his hand, but pulled his mentor into a hug and told him how lucky the baby would be to have him as a father.

Clark stood up from where he sat on the rocking chair that he had occupied. "Diana, I believe you have something else to say."

Diana looked at Clark from her seat on the porch swing she shared with Shayera who held a sleeping Rex. Without missing a beat, she told the group about Hera coming to her, giving her the news about the baby, and the impending war.

"The next day was when Clark became ill during the Justice League press conference and the Javelin went haywire." Bruce Wayne put in after his wife had finished divulging her information. "We all know that fragments of Brainiac's program were found within the Javelin's software. How it got there is a question we still don't have the answer to."

"Let me get this straight," John Stewart raised both of his hands in the air and then returned them to his side. He was situated between where Shayera sat and Bruce was to his right. "You think a war has come, but you don't know who we are at war with?"

"No, we don't." Bruce looked down at his feet, ashamed that he didn't have an answer. "I've gone over all the data on the Javelin and I can't explain how Brainiac got on board. I still don't know what made Clark sick. I can't tell you how many times I have gone over the videos from the press conference, but I have identified all the people present and have found no trace of kryptonite."

"Actually, I have an idea how Brainiac may have downloaded himself onto the Javelin, Clark spoke up. "The Javelin had gone right over the Fortress of Solitude that day."

"Other Javelin's have gone over the Fortress of Solitude before and this has never happened." Bruce confirmed to his friend.

"I know, but the night before, I was at the Fortress of Solitude and I have a feeling when I activated the Brainiac computer's ability to download and upload information from the Watchtower that I didn't turn it off. I was in a rush to leave and get back to Metropolis." Clark confessed to his friends and then hung his head in shame.

"Damn it Clark, you were not the cause of the Javelin going berserk. I checked into it and you did power down the Fortress of Solitude's computers and it is not the cause of Brainiac taking over the Javelin." As Bruce spoke, everyone could detect the frustration that was building in his voice.

Clark looked at the billionaire and down at his feet, sighing heavily.

"What do you suggest we do?" Wally asked.

"Stay on alert and don't take anything for granted. We are at a disadvantage, we have to wait for them to make their next move, we are at the mercy of who ever is behind all this." Jonn answered, looking around at his fellow leaguers, their families, and their was no mistaking the dread that was think in his voice.

Tension began to mount among all those present after hearing what Jonn had told them. All became quiet and the only sound was that of one of the horses whining in the paddocks.


	8. Chapter 8: Windmills of the Gods

**NOTE:** I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please read, review and let me know what you think. Thanks!

* * *

"Our destinies are decided by a cosmic roll of the dice, the winds of the stars, the vagrant breezes of fortune that blow from the windmills of the gods." – H.L. Dietrich, A Final Destiny

* * *

The warm August breeze blew upon the grass of the pasture as a very pregnant Lois Lane-Kent and a moderately pregnant Diana Wayne walked from the stables back towards the gate. The Kents had been in their house for over two weeks now and Clark was back working at the Daily Planet and Justice League, but Lois was still on her extended maternity leave after the events back in June. Even though Lois nor the baby had showed no signs of lasting effects from the event, Jonn had been concerned about the child and determined that removing large amounts of stress in Lois' life would be the best for mother and child. 

Because this child would be the first born with both Earthling and Kryptonian heritage, Jonn and Clark didn't want to take any chances and they knew Lois needed to take life a little more cautiously. This meant no more chasing around the globe looking for the next story, but a compromise had been agreed upon and Lois was working via teleconferencing and internet hookups from the farmhouse. Instead of writing heart-pounding stories, Lois was writing her own column where she discussed pregnancy, parenting, and answered questions from readers. It was a far cry from her wild days of sneaking into LuthorCorp or following Superman into the heat of battle, but pregnancy had definitely brought a new side to Lois, but she still had her spunky personality to get to the bottom of everything.

"So," Lois broke the silence as the two women walked, "you're starting to look pregnant now. You know, I can't believe I am saying this, but this pregnancy has made me realize how wonderful family is and has brought me closer with my own family and with Clark's parents. Jonathan and Martha are amazing and what I have learned about his birth parents, they were just as caring and," Lois trailed off as Gabby came up to her, sniffing around her pockets on the maternity overalls she wore. Living up to her name, Gabby was softly neighing once she was around Lois. Lois grabbed some oat treats she kept in her side pockets, pulled them out, and presented them to her four legged friend by cupping her hands and the filly slurped the treats up with her lips and tongue.

Diana had stopped next to Lois and found that Gaea had followed them and softly nudged the Amazon princess in the back, as if she knew not to do anything to rough around the expectant mother. Diana turned around, hugged the mare around the neck and sighed heavily into the Palomino's white main. Mischief, Gaea's foal, followed the lead of Gabby and starting snooping around the side pockets on Diana's overall knowing full well treats were inside and Diana pulled out of her hug with Gaea. She smiled at the filly and pulled out a few treats, placing them on her palm to offer to Mischeif and then to her mother.

Both women were in there, what they referred to, as the Ellie May garbs, denim jean overalls with baby t-shirts that read "Baby Wants a Pony" with a galloping horse beneath the words, but was not visible through the overalls. Diana's shirt was pink with dark red highlighting the screen print and she wore her ridding boots, even though she wasn't doing much riding these days, she still preferred to wear them when she worked with the horses. Her stomach was definitely starting to protrude farther out than it had been weeks prior when the Kents moved in. Lois had even mentioned to Clark that Diana was definitely larger than what she was at 5 months and she wouldn't be to surprise if Diana was carrying a boy. Clark had rolled his eyes at his wife, reminding her that it wasn't a game to see who had what, it was more important that the baby be healthy and she agreed with him. She was just making an observation, but Clark didn't think that was what she meant.

"How about your family," Lois looked out of the corners of her eyes towards her companion, "has this brought you closer to Alfred, Tim, Dick, and you mother?" Lois' shirt was a lilac color with a dark indigo highlighting the screen print of the words and horse. Her feet still bothered her and she had put on Clark's work boots before she came out to welcome Diana and take a break from her column where she was talking about practical gifts to give at baby showers and give ideas and suggestions to the readers. Who would have thought five years ago that Lois Lane would be writing articles about babies, marriage, and giving advice to readers in the Metropolis/Gotham metro areas? It was a far cry from what she had gone into journalism for, but her priorities were changing and she knew that once she was done having children and they were older, she would go back to getting into trouble chasing after the Pulitzer Prize.

At the mention of her mother, Diana froze and pulled her hands towards her chest. "Alfred and the boys are thrilled about the baby, but I haven't told my mother."

"WHAT?" Lois dropped the few remaining treats and Gabby bent her neck to retrieve the treats. Lois turned towards her friend. "Why haven't you told her? Don't you think she would be ecstatic to know she is going to be a grandmother and an heir to the Amazon crown will be here before the end of the year?"

Diana sighed heavily, "I want to tell her and I do want her to be part of the pregnancy and the child's life, but I don't know how well she will take the news that have I become pregnant by Bruce. She has the out most respect for Bruce, but to Amazons, their really is no need to reproduce because we, I mean my mother and sisters, are immortal"

"She doesn't know you're mortal yet, does she?" Lois asked.

"No, I haven't talked to her since my wedding. She, along with my Amazon sisters who came, were happy for me, but deep down, I think I have brought disgrace to my mother for staying in man's world and becoming a mortal man's wife." As Diana spoke, she walked forward, leaned heavily against the white, wooden gate, and heaved a heavy sigh. She knew she needed to tell her mother, but when and how was still something she was working on. She really hadn't talked to anyone about this, though Bruce had asked her a few nights prior and she said she was still working out some details, but she promised to before the birth. Time was running out, she only had four months to go till her due date.

Diana was startled when she felt a hand placed upon her left shoulder. She looked at the hand and then turned around to come face to face with Lois.

"Let me give you a little bit of advice that I learned; all mothers care deeply for their daughters. Somehow, when they find out their little girl is having a baby all her own, they start to remember what it was like when their little girl was a baby and how much happiness she brought to their life. " Lois used a stern, but caring voice as she addressed her acquaintance and a look of shock came across Diana's face as the world renowned journalist Lois Lane-Kent leaned forward and engulfed her in a friendly hug. "Trust me," Lois whispered into the ear of the princess, "your mom will be shocked, but at the same time she will be happy and it will feel like Almanac took the weight of the world off your shoulders." Lois pulled out of the hug and looked into the deep blue eyes of Mrs. Bruce Wayne.

Diana sighed heavily, shook her head, and smirked at Lois. "You mean Atlas. Atlas is the one who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders."

"Atlas, Almanac, I knew it started with an 'A' and was a reference book. Now, lets go drink some of that home made apple cider Alfred had you bring and," Lois stopped in mid-sentence and her hands rushed to her belly. She inhaled sharply and a startled gasp escaped her lips.

Diana's eyes went wide. "Lois, are you okay?"

Lois slowly composed herself and flashed Diana a smile. "Now, don't you go all panicky like Smallville did this morning. I have been having back pains and some stomach cramps but it is just false labor. Last night after Lamaze class, Jonn examined me and I hadn't even started to dilate, the baby is still high, and I am three weeks away from my due date. Besides, I have a high tolerance for pain, comes from being a military brat." With that said, Lois lead the way out of the pasture and Diana shook her head at her friend once more and followed. Since Diana was the last one out, she closed the gate and watched the mares make their way towards the water tank with the foals nipping at their rumps.

"Do you want to go say hi to your guest?" Lois asked Diana with a touch of sarcasm in her voice. Lois and Diana were back-to-back with Lois staring at the pasture where Goliath stayed. Diana turned around and stared at the stallion that was off in the distance grazing on the other side of the pasture. "Is it strange that the mares don't go near the fence that divides the two pastures? I mean, when he first arrived they went up to it all the time, but right as we moved in, something changed and they are no longer even going near the fence. Clark said he would have to ask Tim to come out and mow the grass along the fence line because it is so tall."

Diana shook her head and walked towards the farmhouse and this time it was Lois' turn to follow. "The mares aren't in heat now since they were already breed and they probably know their foals will be weaned or taken away from them soon so they are trying to get in some last moments together. Hormones can do strange things to females when they become mothers. I believe I read that in an article you wrote a few days back."

"Yeah, that was a fun article to write. Clark felt I talked a little too much about women's hormone levels when they are pregnant and the fact we crave intercourse. Just because some species aren't in heat when they become pregnant doesn't mean humans are the same. I can tell you one thing, this mare is definitely in heat and if her stallion doesn't comply soon, he may become a gelding," Lois stated with a roguish grin on her face as she looked at Diana. Once the two women made eye contact they started to giggle like junior high students and continued the walk to the front porch of the farm house where home made cider waited for them.

Out in the pasture where the dark stallion grazed, the only sound being made was the rustling of cold wind from the north blowing in the grass. No birds, ground squirrels, or even bees would come within 5 feet of the pasture and the dark mass was alone. If the two women had taken a closer look, they would have noticed the stallion merely nibbled on the grass and his eyes were clouded over just like a rainy day in April. His breathing was shallow and his movements were jerky, like that of a robot.

* * *

A chilling breeze swept past Superman who with the rest of the founding members of the Justice League, minus Wonder Woman, was assembled in their conference room. Superman shivered as the breeze swept past him and he looked around to determine where the breeze had come from, up in the Watch Tower, cool breezes don't just occur with out a vent or Flash near by. The vent was on the other side of the room and it wasn't turned on and Flash was sitting still or, for Flash, the amount of fidgeting he was doing was as still as he got. With a shake of his head, Superman returned to the conversation at hand, what Batman had figured out from reviewing the videos of the day back in June when he had been brought down to his knees and his family was put in jeopardy. 

"For the past month, I have been going through the video frame by frame, identifying each person and gathering background information about them. Of all the people in these shots, two of them are dead." Batman's voice echoed around the room. The dark knight of Gotham City stood in front of his colleagues and as he talked the video of the incident played behind him on the large plasma touch screen. As the moment where Clark went down started to play, the video paused and Batman turned around, hit a few keys on the portable keyboard he carried and the image magnified to the area where an elderly man with a cane stood.

"Sixty-five year old Jasper Forbes, reporter for the VFW Magazine, decorated veteran who received the Purple Heart after he lost one of his legs during battle." Batman looked from the screen to his colleagues. "He was found dead in his van that evening, the coroner called it a heart-attack."

"So, what makes this suspicious?" Green Lantern asked, as he looked Batman dead in the eyes, arms crossed at his chest. "The man was sixty-five years old and it isn't uncommon for someone at that age to suffer a heart-attack or any type of heart problems for that matter."

"True, but the coroner put his death between 10 and 11 that morning," Batman's eyes narrowed and he pointed towards the image of the man project on the screen. "These images were taken at 4 in the afternoon."

The mood in the conference room grew serious and all members shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Superman moved his elbows to rest on top of the table, bringing his hands up and rested his chin on the folded hands. The man of steel had a stone face and he looked at his friend.

"So," Flash broke the silence that was making him uncomfortable, "you mean this guy that came was dead in the morning, but he got better and made it to the press conference? Wow, I doubt even Lois or Linda have that kind of commitment to the news world." The scarlet speedster shot a smile to Superman, but his fellow superhero never looked his way or acknowledged the comment. The smile receded from the Central City native and he looked back towards the screen.

"I obtained a copy of the medical examiner's report and in the comments it stated that it seemed like the life had been sucked out of him. His heart was normal, but due to his age and cholesterol, it was deemed a heart-attack." Batman finished his profile on the elderly gentleman, pushed a few more keys on his keyboard and the image zoomed out of the close up and then zoomed in to the left where an African American man holding a video camera stood.

"Also found dead was Neal Brothers, cameraman for a TV station out of Jamaica. They reported him missing at 1 that afternoon when he didn't catch up with the rest of his team at noon in the hotel lobby to start preparing for the press conference. They knocked on his hotel room door and the manager even allowed them access to see if he was in the room. He wasn't and that is when they issued a missing person report. He was found dead around 7 that night in his hotel room and the coroner put his time of death around noon and his video camera was not found."

The superheroes, all dressed in their superhero costumes with Shayera Stewart in her yellow exercise outfit, looked around the room at one and other, bewildered expressions adorn all of their faces except for Superman who was still stone faced.

Batman knew he had everyone's attention, but he wasn't done with the devastating news. "Just last week, the decomposing body of Jonah Bradley, engineer with the U.S. Department of Defense who was suppose to be manning the ground control room we had set up for the Javelin was found in the Metropolis Bay, about ½ a mile from the press conference. Mr. Bradley never showed up and the building remained locked through out the whole event, the cameras pointed towards the building's doorway only showed the guards breaking the door down to get access to the room. If you remember, when they opened the door, no one was in there and no evidence was found of any presence except for a few small burn marks on the chair and floor, but that was dismissed as cigarette burns from previous occupants. Jonah's body was so decomposed that they coroner was unable to determine time or date of death, but his death was marked as mysterious."

Batman returned his attention to Superman, "I'm sorry Clark. I know these aren't the answers you are looking for. If anything, these findings have only brought about more questions than answers and."

The wailing and flashing red lights of the alarms in the Watch Tower interrupted Batman and all founding members looked back to the screen that had altered from the picture of Jonah Bradley to the image of Mr. Terrific.

"We have a critical situation in Metropolis, unknown creatures have appeared and panic has gripped the city. I am deploying all available league members." Mr. Terrific's voice was calm and behind him, other league members were preparing to teleport down or making their way to the Javelin bay to assist with the crisis.

"Thank you for the update," Jonn Jones reported back to the video screen. He looked back to his colleagues. "I will stay up here in the Watch Tower to monitor all activities and be on hand in case medical assistance is needed. Shayera," Jonn looked to his right where Shayera sat with her husband John to her right, "I will need help in the Monitor Womb. Green Lantern, Superman, and Batman should go down to Metropolis to help with the battle. Flash will stay up here as part of the reserve in case more help is needed."

"Everyone knows what they are doing," Superman stood up, placing his hands palm down on the table as he spoke. He looked around at his comrades who were nodding their heads letting the man of steel know they were all ready. "Lets go!"

The members took off for their destinations, Jonn with Flash and Shayera right behind him made their way to the bridge. Green Lantern, Batman, and Superman headed towards the Javelin bay to prepare for their descent to Earth.

Superman was running next to Batman and voiced his concern, "I hope Lois is okay."

"Diana went to see the horses this afternoon so she should be with her. Also, Diana still takes her com link and takes it with her when she goes anywhere. If anything happens, Diana can get in contact with us." The dark night shot back. Actually, Bruce was concerned about his wife as well and hoped she was safe at the Kents.

* * *

An eerie draft of cold air blew past Wesley Makoto, a law student at Metropolis State University as he read the day's paper and in particular, the business section. Wesley quivered and looked around to determine where the draft had come from, but there was no sign of opening doors or vents close by. 

At 26, Wesley was a well built five foot eight male of Asian descent. His dark hair was cut short and laid flawlessly upon his head above a pair of emerald green eyes. Wesley had just finished his day's work as being a law intern with a local practice. Dressed in a well-pressed black suit with a pale green tie and matching black shoes, Mr. Makoto fit the appearance of a typical law student who had just finished a day's work as an intern.

Wesley sat alone on the main floor of the Metropolis Public Library in one of the library's reading lounges that was entitled the Lex Luthor Memorial Wing. In the wing, overstuffed tan colored leather chairs and loveseats, walnut coffee and end tables, and on the walls were memorabilia from Lex Luthor's life.

"You couldn't pay me to sit in that wing," a male patron whispered to his buddies as they walked past the threshold entering to the wing. His buddies laughed and agreed with him as they walked on towards the study rooms in the back.

Wesley glared across the room towards them as they walked on by. "Some people have no respect for genius," he mumbled as he returned to his paper. As he sat in the large chair against a large window, a smile, mimicking the one that Lex Luthor in the painting to his left wore spread over his face. "I do have to admit, it is great to be young again and in Metropolis."

Wesley Makota was Lex Luthor's newest identity and he had access to the young man's apartment, bank account, and the information he could obtain at the law office where the student was interning. Luthor was very pleased with his new identity and never gave it a thought to wonder where the real Wesley Makota was.

Returning to his paper, Wesley looked on the front page of the Daily Planet Business Section to see an old friend of Lex's smiling and standing next to Bruce Wayne of Gotham City. Mercy was now the CEO of LexCorp and from what he had read, she was doing a great job running the company.

According to the article that was written by Chloe Sullivan, Wayne Foundations had donated a few hundred million to keep the second chance housing development Lex had established while he made his bogus run for president up and running. The housing development had been a major success and had helped thousands of families get on their feet financially.

After Lex read the article, he looked back up at the picture. Mercy stood receiving a large cardboard check from billionaire Bruce Wayne who stood to her left and held the other side of the check. In front of the two business people sat two little kids and to Mercy's right was the single mother of the two kids. There was another person in he picture to the left of Mr. Wayne, a pregnant woman with raven hair tied up in a bun and was dressed in an olive green maternity dress with matching green sandals. She also wore bulky glasses and very little jewelry other than a stunning engagement ring with a matching wedding band. Curious as to whom she was, Lex reread the caption underneath since he must have skipped over her name.

"Shown above from Left to Right Mrs. Wauneta Carlson a resident of the development, LexCorp CEO Mercy Graves, Wayne Industries CEO Bruce Wayne, and Chair of Wayne Foundation Diana Wayne at the ceremony held last Tuesday in Metropolis. Mrs. Carlson's two sons Walker and Chance are seated in the front holding a football and basketball, a few of the gifts Mrs. Wayne bestowed to them and all the children."

Luthor looked from the wedding ring on Diana's hand to the ring Bruce Wayne now wore on his left hand, they matched each other perfectly and that only meant one thing. The playboy billionaire had settled down with a woman who resembled a librarian more than the wife of a CEO, especially one who had such a reputation for going after some of the most recognized supermodels and girls who probably didn't know where the library was but knew every location of malls within a 100 mile radius. This woman looked very intelligent, presented herself like a member of royalty, and wore modest clothes that revealed nothing to controversial other than the fact she was pregnant.

At the bottom of the article, a notation was made about another article:

"Read the exclusive interview with Bruce and Diana Wayne on the front page of the Daily Planet's Living Section. The Wayne's talk about their first six months of marriage, how their adoptive sons are doing, and their excitement about their baby due after Christmas."

Lex found this interesting and as a member or a former member of Metropolis/Gotham City social elite, he had to know more about this woman who tamed the heart of the wealthiest bachelor in the country. Placing the business section on the coffee table, he picked up the Daily Planet's Living Section that sat in the pile of sections from the day's newspaper. As he studied the front page of the section, he saw the author was none other than Lois Lane or Mrs. Superman. With her name in print, Lex gathered that she and the baby were fine, but he had been keeping up on all articles written by the famed Lois Lane to see if anything from the private life of the Kents would leak through.

A picture of the Waynes with their adopted sons graced the front with a picture of the two of them on their wedding day below the family portrait, both pictures were printed in color. As Lex stared at the wedding picture, the bride wore glasses and her hair was done up to expose her dark skin and toned shoulders. The dark blue eyes behind the black-framed glasses had caught the cloaked villain off guard. He had seen those eyes, that dark skin, and athletic frame somewhere else. He knew he had just seen those eyes somewhere else.

Lex sat the living section down on the coffee table, over the business section and opened his backpack, pulling out an older edition of the Daily Planet that showcased the founding members of the Justice League. Lex found the page with Wonder Woman's colored photo taken shortly after he had disappeared. He placed the Wonder Woman page next to the Wayne page from the current edition and sat back and marveled at the resemblances. If you took away the glasses, took her hair out of the bun, and instead of a wedding veil had on a tiara, she could be the same person with a secret identity.

Lex continued reading the article, and found it amusing that she had taught Greek and Mediterranean Literature and culture classes at Gotham University. How ironic that the princess of the Amazons was teaching the history she had witnessed before her very eyes because of her immortality. If she had become a professor, how did she gain the credentials to be a teacher? Why did she have a secret identity?

More questions began to fill into his mine and he realized the biggest finding he had made; Wonder Woman was indeed still on Earth, just as Hades had claimed. Along with being on Earth, Wonder Woman was married to one of the richest men in the world, was pregnant, and was living under a new alias. So, since Wonder Woman was now married and starting a family, was this why the Justice League was stating she was out on diplomatic duties on the other side of the galaxy?

He had it, Lex Luthor had figured out the ace to play against Hades, he knew the true identity of his daughter and the fact the Greek god would become a grandfather in a few months. Lex wet the lips of his proxy body hungrily as he reviewed everything he had discovered.

A small tremble phased through the library and was then followed by a substantial quake that brought bookshelves tumbling down on patrons, screams of freight and pain echoed out through the library. Lex looked up and then turned to look out the window behind him. What he saw made his blood boil; the attack was on. He had been told the attack wouldn't start for another few weeks, but outside he saw the undead minions of Hades and Ares walking down the streets of Metropolis.

Frustrated, Lex stuffed the newspapers into the backpack, flung the heavy bundle over his shoulders and proceeded to the nearest exit along with the rest of the patrons. He was going to get to the bottom of the rationing as t why the attack was occurring ahead of schedule. Once Luthor was outside, he headed towards a vacant alley to make contact with the gods to see what was going on.

* * *

A frigid breeze blew across the front porch of the Kent's house and both women shivered as they sat next to each other on the porch swing. They had finished their glasses of home made cider and still nibbled on the fruit tarts that Alfred had sent with Diana for her afternoon snack while she would be out and about. 

"Maybe we should warm up the cider," Lois told her guest as she transferred a lock of hair behind her ear and out of her eyes. "What is with this weather? All summer it was warm and it never dipped below 75F, now it is dropping fast."

Both women looked to the sky and saw dark clouds where the warm sun had been not an hour ago when they had come back to the porch. They had been talking about everything from their husbands to the joys and troubles with pregnancy, becoming so enclosed with their conversation to notice the changing weather.

Diana stood up and made her way to the railing to look out at the changing skies. When she got to the railing, she felt the cold winds rush past her face and a sensation of dread, hate, and war cascade through her body when it came in contact with the air and the child within in womb quivered. Something was wrong, but what was going on.

Lois came to stand next to the princess, rubbing her arms trying to stay warm. "You know, I have a bad feeling about this."

"As do," before Diana could finish her sentence a loud bang came from Metropolis and both women looked in the direction. What they saw brought shear fright to their faces.

A large smoke cloud bloomed from where Metropolis stood and mushroomed out in all four directions. The two women could smell sulfur and hear the faint sound of screams and destruction of the city.

"Diana," Lois' voice sounded feeble and a sense of anxiety was interweaved into her words as she spoke, "I've never seen or felt anything like this. What is happening?"

The Amazon's eyes focused on the smoke forming in the distance and heard the terror from the cries of the birds, squirrels, and her own horses as she squeezed her eyelids. "Chaos has arrived." With those words, Diana's body tensed and she clinched her hands into a fist.


	9. Chapter 9: The Greatest Pain

Chapter Nine: The Greatest Pain

NOTE: I do not own any characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am also not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please review and let me know what you think. Thanks!

"The loss of heaven is the greatest pain in hell." Calderon De La Barca

Downtown Metropolis was the heart of the massive city where the concrete world and nature intertwined with each other. The walking paths weaved around the downtown businesses and coexisted with the waterfront that was always a deep, healthy blue. The downtown had a small town atmosphere and Clark Kent had often told his wife he enjoyed when he was feeling homesick and didn't have time to fly home for a quick visit. With its little coffee shop, antiques store, and old style theater, Clark would just wonder around the walking paths to clear his mind, get out to stretch his legs from sitting behind his reporter's desk, and look for a gift to surprise Lois with.

As Superman exited the Javelin with Batman to his right and Captain Atom to his left, he could hardly believe his eyes at the destruction and chaos occurring amongst the serenity of downtown Metropolis that he had helped turn into a safe haven for families, businesses, and visitors to appreciate. Now, Superman looked down at his feet to notice he was standing on remnants of one of the historic buildings that once graced the downtown area. His gaze went to the sight where the deep red-bricked building with its hand painted stained windows that had once stood three stories tall. It had been a historic building that had served as the first hospital in Metropolis and had been renovated to a museum, but it was now replaced with a large crater.

The surrounding area was littered with debris and few motionless bodies and the dust hung in the air and rose high into the city's skyline. The weather only intensified the bleak feeling that hung heavy in the air. Dark, heavy clouds covered the sky that only a few hours ago had been a deep blue with the sun glowing bright. Now, other than the dark clouds, the wind was picking up velocity and the smell of rain was thick in the air. A few blocks away, the sound of obliteration and vulnerable citizens screaming were heard echoing against the structures that still stood. In the sky, more Javelins were coming in to land along with several teams who were transporting to other locations. The four members who had landed next to the crater where going to determine whom or what the league was up against and determine what the best plan of action was going to be to rid Metropolis of this menace.

"We should have seen the rock that made this dent from the Watch Tower," Green Lantern's voice boomed from behind Batman as Superman made his way towards the crater. "I mean, no one reported a meteor, it was described as a large explosion."

Still flabbergasted at the backdrop he saw, Superman knelt down next to the crater and examined it. At a rough estimate, the crater was no more than 300 feet in diameter and the hole went down three if not four times the diameter where solid bedrock was all that could be seen. Even when he used his x-ray vision, the only thing the man of steel could see was more bedrock and found no source of the explosion in the form of dynamite or remnants of an asteroid.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Superman half whispered to himself expecting no one would here what he had just said.

"That makes two of us," Batman's baritone voice stated from behind the kneeling Kryptonian who was a little startled, but quickly regained control. "There should be some source of debris and residue from an explosion, but all I have found is large amounts of what smells like sulfur." The great detective continued looking around the edge of the crater and surveying the surrounding area.

Green Lantern made his way around the debris, never noticing that the motionless body of what appeared to be a young man was stirring. At first glance, the young man who had been laying face down must have been killed recently, but once he lifted his head, it was clear he had been dead for longer than a day as his flesh was beginning to decay into a ghoulish yellow. As the minion of Ares and Hades smiled, he rose to his full height, with rags as clothes that were moth eaten and no shoes, he followed the Green Lantern who was still surveying the damage and looking for survivors. All around, the other eight lifeless bodies began to arise all of them decaying corpses in different stages of decomposing and a few who were only skeletons.

"What the," Captain Atom mumbled as he looked to his left from where he stood on the Javelin ramp to see one of the corpse simple stand up and walk after his comrade and knew an ambush when he saw one. He had looked to see where Green Lantern had gone. "Green Lantern, behind you."

The former Marine, with his ring ready, turned around and shot a deadly beam in the center of the dead man's chest, causing the corpse to break apart and fall to the ground.

"Judas Priest, what the," before Green Lantern could finish, the pieces quickly came back together and the dead man stood once again, facing the super hero and made a ear wrenching cry that made all the superheroes cover their ears. Taking the opportunity, the dead made their way towards the heroes, but before they could reach their targets, beams of light shot out of Superman's eyes hitting three of them, Batman launched two of his Bat-A-Rangs that exploded once they came in contact with two more walking dead, and Captain Atom hit the final three with his atomic power. Green Lantern took another shot with his ring at the dead man that stood not more than a foot away from him, this time with a resilient beam of light from his ring, causing the corpse to once again blow up.

The four heroes looked down at their handy work, trying to process what had just happened. The silence was shattered by Green Arrow's voice from their comlinks.

"What in great blazes is going on? It seems like we are in the middle of a horror movie that Flash would watch. What are we fighting?" the archer's bewildered voice asked. More Javelins had landed all around the city and Green Arrow was in command of one of the other Javelins and the landing party it contained.

"We don't know, but" Superman put his hand to his ear as he spoke, "one good blast to the creature's chests seems to do the . . . . Trick?" Superman's voice faltered as he watched in bewilderment as the mangled body parts of the corpses started to congregate and reform the dead bodies again, this time each of the corpses had divided to an army of 18 dead bodies stood where only 9 had been before.

"Green Arrow, correction, what ever you do DO NOT give them a good blast to the chest." Superman replied.

"But," Green Arrow called back, "you said."

"Never mind what I just said," Superman yelled back as he started throwing punches at the walking dead. The three other heroes saw what was going on and decided that Superman's hands on approach might do the trick and began to through punches with determination.

* * *

Diana and Lois stood on the front porch, looking in the direction of Metropolis, their eyes never faltering from the mushroom cloud that hung over the city. Their raven locks blew with the strong winds that were now gusting more dramatically and causing everything to be mercilessly stimulated against its will. Along with the wind, flashes of lightning could be seen streaking the sky and a rumble of thunder was heard somewhere in the distance.

A sudden gust caused one of the hanging baskets that lined the porch to come loose and miss both women by inches as it smashed into the bay window, shattering the glass. Diana's Amazon instincts came about and she grabbed Lois by her wrist, pulling her towards the entrance to the house.

"How do we get to the basement?" Diana asked Lois as she grabbed the handle to the front door.

"We don't have a basement, the old cellar from the original house is under the stables." Lois answered trying to stay calm and after all the misadventures she had been in, she knew a thing or two about staying calm.

"Come on, we need to get there as quick as we can," Diana screamed over the roar of the wind that was intensifying with each passing moment. With determination and care, Diana led the expectant mother down the stairs and towards the gate that would lead them to the stable and the cellar that would protect them.

"Diana," Lois's voice was saturated with concern, as she looked towards Metropolis and back to the princess as they semi-sprinted to the cellar. "What is going on?"

"The war has started and," Diana had flung the gate wide open, causing the gate to come off its hinges and fall to the ground, "the greatest battle between good and evil has begun. Remember, I told you about it back at the manner when I told," before she could finish, Lois stopped dead in her tracks, doubling over in pain. Diana stopped and tried to coax the woman on. "Lois, we need to keep moving."

"AHWWW," Lois started to scream but a wave of pain so intense that she fell to her knees and was unable to catch her breath.

Diana gazed down at her and knelt down, trying to bring comfort to the ailing woman. "Lois, how long have you been having those pains?"

Panting like a winded dog, Lois met Mrs. Wayne's eyes with pain etched not only in her face, but in her own violet eyes. "For a little over a day. Like I said, I have a high tolerance for pain but this pain is taking my breath away."

"Come on," Diana scooped up the laboring woman and flew to the stables that were only 30 meters away. "We need to get to safety." Since the stables were rather close, Diana knew she could fly that short distance and bring no harm to her baby or to Lois and her child.

With the grace of a princess, Diana landed at the sliding doors that marked the entrance of the stables and were wide open. Gently, Diana put Lois down on her feet and the famed reported led the way to the cellar door that was in the stable to the left of where Diana and Lois had landed.

Lois opened the door with ease and it revealed steep stairs that went deep into the earth. With a flick of the light switch, light illuminated the passageway and Lois began walking down the stairs careful of the rickety old steps. Diana followed in suit and closed the door behind her, making sure to deadbolt the entrance.

At the bottom of the stairs, Lois made her way to an old kitchen table and chair were situated and sat down with a deep sigh, her hands going to the baby bump.

"This can't be happening, I'm not in labor. I still have a few weeks to my due date." Frantically, Lois looked to Diana who was walking towards where she sat.

Diana grabbed the chair opposite of Lois and pulled it out and situated it so she was sitting right across from the frightened woman without having the table between the two of them. With her soft hands, Diana plucked Lois' hands from her stomach and held them and rubbed them ever so gently.

"Calm down Lois. The worse thing you can do right now is start to panic. Let me get in contact with Jonn and he can easily teleport us up to the Watch Tower to," Diana spoke as she reached towards her ear that contained her com link, but when her finger tips did not encounter her com but her inner ear, causing the princess to stop in mid sentence. "My com link, it's gone."

At the sound of those words, a new wave of panic attacked Lois and she squeezed the other woman's hand with such intent that she never wanted to loosen her grip.

"WHAT?!" Lois exclaimed.

Retaining her regal composer, Diana brought her other hand back in contact with Lois' hands. "I forgot, I had taken it out when I pulled up into the driveway, it is still in the car. It won't take me but a minute to run out and grab it." It was a lie, Diana had never taken the com link out and where the link may have been was a good question, but she never faltered to show her true colors.

Diana stood up and began to make her way to the stairway, trying to think where she would start the search for her com link. The only thought that came to her mind was when Gray Ghost had come up and began to nuzzle the ear that housed the link. She would run back to that spot, grab the com link, get in contact with Jonn and get Lois to safety.

"Diana," the voice of Lois Lane-Kent was faint as if she had just witnessed a ghost and with the mention of her name, Diana turned on her heels to the source of the sound. "Please hurry," Lois looked down at her lap and Diana noticed that her overalls now looked damp and water trickled off the plastic chair, "my water broke."


	10. Chapter 10: Our Enemies, Our Destruction

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten: Our Enemies, Our Destruction

NOTE: I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am also not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please review and let me know what you think. Thanks!

Also, I need to apologize for not posting chapters frequently, life has been a rather hectic. But, I promise, I will finish this story!

* * *

"We often give our enemies the means to our own destruction." -_Aesop_

Across Metropolis, members of the Justice League fought hand-to-hand combat with the army of the dead who not only harassed the league, but the citizens of the city as well. The cadaver warriors were creating chaos to every man, woman, and child who called the urban area home. These walking skeletons with their flesh hanging off ivory bones continued to create havoc in the streets of the fair city and the horror that had exploded onto the streets of Metropolis less than thirty minutes prior was about to turn cenotaphic and become something the Justice League had never seen.

A few brave citizens, once realizing the Justice League had come to there rescue, became confident in themselves and began to take a stand against the monsters that were plaguing their city. A group of ten young men who were in college started approaching a regiment of skeletons who began to walk backwards as soon as they were confronted. Two of the undead, one a male skeleton that had scraps of flesh and muscle hanging off a tall skeletal frame and the other had once been a female with a severely distorted face lacking flesh around the checks and dressed in a Victoria era dress, both looked at each other and broke away from their comrades and approached two of the young men. Without warning, the two dead minions grabbed a hold of one of the students by the shoulders and quickly, but painfully, sucked the life out of them, recruiting two new members of the ever-growing army. These new recruits looked as if they had been deprived of sunlight and all their fat had been sucked out.

Once they had officially become soldiers, they turned towards their college buddies and started to drain the energy out of the closest man to them. At seeing this, the other members began to run for their lives, but found that they had rubbery legs and were unable to get away quickly and a few more of them became soldiers.

Standing at a second floor window of The Daily Planet, Jimmy Olson and Chloe Sullivan had just witnessed the creation of new undead soldiers and looked each other in the eyes, unable to speak, to form words, and to even really move though they both knew they had to get somewhere safe.

The two Daily Planet employees weren't the only ones to witness this stark revelation. Crouching behind an old, rusty red dumpster, Green Arrow's eyes widened at what he had just witnessed and knew instantly he needed to get in contact with rest of the league, especially those members on the ground.

* * *

The Amazon Princess retraced her steps around the farmhouse, but she found no trace of her com link. She had even looked in her car, but no sign of the device.

'Where could it be?" the princess murmured to herself.

With one final look around, Diana made her way back to the pasture and began to think ahead to what she was going to do if she didn't get her com link. The only thing left to do would be to try and make telepathic contact with Jonn, hoping he would be able to hear here over all the hustle and bustle that would be going on up at the Watch Tower.

There was still once more chance, she would look over in the area where Grey Ghost has nuzzled her ear, and maybe he did bump it out of her ear. If the com link wasn't there, she would have to make contact telepathically or fly Lois into Metropolis where the Justice League would be and make contact through one of them, but that seemed to risky and she didn't know is she, Princess of the Amazon, would be able to fly that far in her own condition and mentally scratched that idea from her mind.

After closing the gate behind her, Diana once again started scanning the grass for her comlink. As she began to sweep the grass with her eyes while she made her way towards the barn, she noticed something silver in the grass and a wave of relief overcame her body. She had found it.

With the grace of a member of royal birth, Diana kneeled down next to the comlink, grasping it with her left hand. All at once, the princess swore she had heard something move behind her and before she cold turn around, she felt something hit her hard on the head. From the moment of impact, the world went into slow motion with Diana falling towards her right side.

"Help," was the last thing she remembered thinking as she landed on the paddock's soft grass, her left hand still grasping the com link.

* * *

After hitting and sending his third dead corpse to the ground, Superman began to notice his hands were feeling a rather numb. He brought his hands towards his face and began to notice that they were shriveled like raisins. Was this some sort of allergic reaction?

"Green Arrow to the landing parties, what ever you do, don't come in bodily contact with these creatures or else you will become just like them. Repeat, don't come into contact with these things or else you will become just like them." Green Arrow's voice boomed from the com links in the ears of Superman and the rest of the landing party.

With those words, Batman noticed that his body was beginning to go numb and quickly pulled out his bat -grapple, fired it at a near by building, and swung himself away from the dead and landed next to Superman. Both superheroes looked around them, trying to come up with their next plan of action, though Superman used his eyes to keep the villains at bay with his laser beams and to provide cover for Captain Atom and Green Lantern to make their way towards them.

Above their heads, dark thunderheads encircled the sky bringing sharp lightning and claps of thunder that shook the ground. The wind had picked up within the last twenty minutes and scattered rain showers came and went, drenching the team.

With a deep sigh, Batman began to regroup himself. He knew he was beginning to weaken, but as he closed his eyes, he focused all his energy around the aches, the pains, and the fatigue that radiated throughout his body. Using the meditation techniques where the warrior turned his pains into fuel to continue his battle, the Dark Knight felt his pains begin to fade and her energy level increasing. With one final cleansing exhale, Batman opened his eyes and looked around at his comrades.

"We have only one option, we need to distract these creatures while the citizens of Metropolis can get to safety," the blue boy scout told his posse as he used his eyes to keep the minions away from them. Quickly, Superman hit his comlink so he could get in contact with the rest of the landing parties. "Superman to all landing parties, Green Arrow is correct, do NOT get within 10 feet of these creatures. Now, I want each landing party to split into two groups, one group will distract the creatures while the other group leads the citizens to the outer parts of the cities towards designated rondeavue places. On the northern part of the city, take them to Siegel Memorial Park, on the east side take them to Bates Memorial Arboretum, the south side to Cane Riparian Picnic Area, and on the west side rondeavue at Marston Band Shell Park. Split up quickly and try to work with other landing parties. Superman out."

With that, Superman looked around at his colleagues and took the reins as the leader. "Green Lantern and I will cruise the skies looking for any citizens who may be still in a 10 block vicinity and get them hooked up with the nearest landing party heading towards a rondivue point. Captain Atom and Batman will provide the distractions. We will meet back here in half an hour. Lets go and be careful!"

* * *

The limp body of the Amazon Princess laid not twenty feet from the entrance to the Kent's barn. The wind continued to howl and her raven locks danced along with the grass that was moving in all directions.

There was another sound other than the howling of the wind, it was the deep breathing of a mad stallion. Goliath stood over the body of Mrs. Diana Prince-Wayne, hatred and revenge flickered in the depths of the animal's hazel eyes. With one swift movement, the stallion was up on his rear legs, aiming the front legs towards the human body before him. At that point, the stallion was balancing on the left rear hoof, emphasizing all of his colossal wait towards the front for the initial blow. From a distance, it was a breath taking sight to see the massive stallion pawing at the air and his true athletic ability to balance so brilliantly on just one hoof, but a closer look would have made anyone flinch and look away to avoid seeing what was about to happen with hooves and flesh came in contact with each other.

The stallion was deeply engulfed in his victim, he never saw the fury of the palomino mare come charging at full speed on his right side or he would have planted both rear hooves, instead of just the one in the firm ground. With all her power and mass, the mare slammed into the rearing stallion, causing the beast to teeter on his left hoof, creating so much pressure the snapping of bones could be heard and white spears jetted out of the midnight colored hide that engulfed his left leg. The creature fell to the ground, landing on a rock with the side of his head and more cracking of bones could be heard along with the loud thud as the body landed on the ground. Quickly, the head wound began to bleed out, drenching the area with blood. With one final heave, the stallion exhaled for the last time and went silent.

Ears folded back and nostrils flaring, the old broad mare stared at the lifeless form for a few minutes. As she stood there, she slowly regained her breath and lowered her defenses, allowing her ears to become erect again and to swivel in the direction where her beloved owner laid. Dazed, the mare turned her attention back to the human that laid on the ground, but was still breathing for her chest would rise and fall periodically.

The mare walked towards the woman who had shown so much love towards her, her foals, and her heard of sisters. Looking the human over, she draped her nostrils across the back of the princess' bronzed neck, taking in her perfume and softly nibbled on her checks with velvety lips. Gaea remembered when ever she would do this, her owner would start to giggle and laugh with glee, but this time nothing happened.

The corpse of the prized stallion laid in a pool of red, the dark eyes still open, but suddenly they blinked and then blinked again. With a great heave, the stallion got back to his feet, his wounds were still evident, his leg still broken and the way his neck was mutilated, it had been broken in several places from the fall along with the deep wound on the side of the head that had caved in from being smashed against a rock.

The sound of movement drew the mare's attention away from her vigil over the ailing human and full focus was brought back to the stallion. At witnessing the stallion's rise from the dead, the mare perked her ears and her eyes widened at the sight. The horse that had just broken its leg, neck, and had suffered serious head trauma was once again back on his feet and moving towards her. As the beast made his way to the palomino, his distorted neck began to straighten out, his head began to inflate where the rock has crushed his skull, and this broken leg mended itself.

Drawing closer to the mare, the brute looked the mare in the eyes and her own eyes began to grow large with fear, with madness of what she had seen, and with regret that she hadn't wakened her owner. Her eyes reflected the brute lunging at her, his teeth were bared towards her and a humanlike voice came out of his mouth stating, "die bitch."

From the other side of the pasture, Mischief had started to break away from the band of broad mares and foals to locate her mother. The other mares began to follow the feisty filly and all of them came to a dead stop when a heart-stopping whine from a horse pierced the air and was suddenly silenced. The mares flicked their ears and took off towards the front of the barn. Once they came to the front of the barn, they all began to prance on their heels at the sight they looked upon. On the ground lay their beloved mistress who had taken care of them and shown them friendship.

Not far from the human lay Gaea, the wise broodmare who had been in charge of the group. Her golden coat was no more; it had turned into a dull yellow. Blood oozed out of her eye sockets, nostrils, and even her ears.

On shaky legs, Mischief walked towards her mother, sniffing cautiously at the creature that had given her life. As she approached her head, the filly looked into her mother's hazel eyes and jumped. Where before, when she would look into her mother's eyes she would see soft brown eyes that were caring and wise. This time, when she looked in the eyes, she saw horror and evils that no living creature should see. But, what was the most unnerving was the fact that when she looked into those deep brown eyes, she had expected to see a reflection, instead she saw a vast void and a shiver ran down her spine as if she had been hit with a low current of electricity.

In the neighboring paddock, Goliath was grazing and lazily looked up at the mares, twisting his ears around. As he munched on his grass, he shook his head and went back to grazing as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't noticed the sky turn black, as if he hadn't notice the temperature drop and the thick scent of blood in the air.

* * *

The half hour deadline came and went, but Superman and Green Lantern hadn't returned. Batman began to get the feeling that something was happening shortly after the other two leaguers had taken off. Without hesitation, Batman knew the league needed more reinforcements that would be already on the ground so he got in contact with the rest of his Batman Family including Nightwing, Batgirl, and Robin to get over to Metropolis as quickly as they could, situate themselves at one of the rondiveoe places and get things ready for the refugees. Along with those three, he also had Nightwing get in contact with Huntress so all 4 points would be covered with protection for the refugees.

As he made his contacts, his thoughts turned towards Diana and began to wonder how she was. But, he felt as though something may have happened, but her warrior training was her best defense and he knew she could take care of herself and hopefully she had stayed at the Kent's house and was protecting Lois at that very moment.

About forty-five minutes after they left, the search party came back and all four superheroes resumed their battling. It was clear all of them were becoming tired and weak, but they kept fighting anyway and were not about to give up. Every minute they continued to fight, they gave hope and a chance for the citizens to make it to the rondivuoe points. While Superman was in the air, he had requested landing parties be transported to the rondivuie points for added protection and for safety.

"We only came upon a few, but they all told the same story. There was an explosion and the creatures began to suck the souls from others while they watched." Green Lantern's voice boomed over the sound of the heroes defenses blowing the minions to pieces, but only having them return to their living undead forms with a few splitting off into two new minions while others resuming into just one. The same sounds continued to echoed as the fighting continued.

General Zechariah Davenport, who had taken over for General Wade Eiling after the mishap with the Captain Nazi serum, made his way towards the league, shooting the walking dead right between the eyes, making them drop like flies. The well decorated general shot with amazing accuracy and his presence had become noticed by the heroes.

"Aim between their eyes, I don't know why but we have come to discover that if you hit them between the eyes paralyzes them," the lifelong army man shouted to the heroes. Once they heard the advice, they all began to do what he had told them and their foes became paralyzed and fell to the ground.

Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Captain Atom made their way towards the General, continuing to aim right between the eyes. To all of their astonishments, it was working because once the creatures were hit between the eyes, the dropped and didn't reform. This was a new breakthrough and Superman made contact with the other landing parties to inform them about what they had discovered and to follow suite with what they had found out about hitting between the eyes.

"I'm glad I found you. I just about lost a regiment of soldiers to these things and thanks to some sort of luck, me and few others survived. I ran into a few of your comrades and told my remaining men and women to go with them for assistance and I asked who was in charge of this and they pointed me in this direction." The general told the men as he continued to fire at the minions.

Within 15 minutes, the living corpses in the area were now piles of dust everywhere, with the sounds of more coming, but around one of the corners that lead to the downtown main street, a group of living soldiers came running towards the group and the general lowered his weapon and held up his hand to signal to the superheroes to lower their weapons as well. The general trotted towards them, talked with the squad commander and then motioned for the heroes to come towards them.

"It sounds like we have some undead stragglers a few blocks away, but they seemed to be split up from there group. I will go with these soldiers to get rid of these bastards. Captain Atom, want to come with us? We could use the extra man power?" The general asked the former solider who instantly came to attention.

"Sir, it would be an honor, but I already have my orders to …" Captain Atom started to answer, but was interrupted.

"Captain, go with these men for extra backup. The rest of us will continue to look around the crater and do some more evidence collecting. If we need you, we will let you know. Keep in contact with us and meet us back at the Javelin in . . . " the man of steel stopped dead in his sentence when he saw the Javelin stood in ruins and was in no shape to be taken up to the Watchtower. The rest of the team followed Superman's eyes and a few gasps were heard, but the heroes kept a level head and returned their attention to Superman.

"Just let us know when you have completed this assignment and let us know where you are and we will meet up with you." Superman finished his sentence and made his way towards the crater with Batman and Green Lantern behind him. Captain Atom walked along side General Davenport as they followed the troops.

"Sure, it is an honor to be working along side you." Captain Atom told the general as there gates quickened along with the troops. " I have read several of your papers and when I was in the Armed Forces, we always. . . "

"Kid, thanks for the flattery, but double time so we can get the show on the road and get rid of one more bump in the road to success." The general shot a smirk to the superheroes and then resumed his attention to the path ahead.

* * *

Diana's eyelids protested her efforts to open them, but the will of the Amazon won and she began to blink her eyes. Carefully, she began to raise her body and felt a tsunami of pain start at the back of her head and ripple towards the front. Wincing, she grabbed her head and suddenly felt the comlink come in contact with her flesh. At once, her eyes snapped open, she looked at the comlink and without hesitation, inserted the com into her ear. She had to make contact with Jonn; she needed to get Lois to the Watch Tower.

Mustering her strength, Diana rose to her full height and looked around noticing the mares and foals were huddled around something on the ground. Diana made her way towards the heard, but lost all feeling in her body and slowly crumpled to her knees at the sight she saw. Her beloved mare lay dead. How did this happen? What happened? She tried to think back to what happened before she got hit, but nothing was coming to mind other than Lois.

"Diana, this is Jonn, Please come in." The Martian Manhunter's voice crackled in her ear cannel.

Shaking away what she saw and realizing she couldn't do anything for her mare now, Diana stood up slowly, reached towards her com link that was now back where it belonged, and pivoted on her boots and made her way towards the barn.

"Jonn, I need you to teleport Lois and myself to the Watch Tower. Lois has gone into labor." The voice of Wonder Woman answered Jonn as she made her way towards the stairway to the basement of the barn.

"Where have you been Diana? I was worried about you." Jonn answered back as be began to get co ordinances for her location.

"I can't explain now, just transport us to the Watch Tower." Diana made her way down the stairs. Once she was off the stairs, she looked towards Lois, but the reporter was no longer sitting on the char, rather she was now down on the concrete on all fours panting vigorously. "Jonn, beam us right to med bay. Lois is in active and I mean active labor."

Without hesitation, the Martian locked on their signal and beamed the two women directly into med bay. Once he knew they were on board the Watch Tower, the slender alien turned towards the scarlet speedster who had been holding his breath while the Martian tried to make contact with the Amazon.

"Get in contact with Superman and Batman. Tell them their wives are here at the Watch Tower and inform Superman that Lois has gone into labor." Jonn relayed the directions to the young man who merely nodded and went to work getting in contact with the other members of the league.

Seeing that Wally was getting to work, the Martian elegantly turned towards the door and exited the monitoring area. "I will be in med bay if anyone needs me."

As Jonn Jones made his way towards med bay, he came across Shayera and stopped her. "Diana will need a friend right now. Go to the lounge and keep her company, I will be sending her there shortly. I get the feeling she has been through a rough day and will need to talk with someone. Don't mention anything about the attacks until we have all regrouped."

Her green eyes never straying from the caring face of the Manhunter, Mrs. Stewart nodded her head and took off to go pick up Rex in the nursery and wait in the lounge as she had been instructed.

* * *

Batman was kneeling down and began to collect soil samples, Green Lantern was illuminating his ring around the crater to try to pickup footsteps, while Superman began to sift through the ashes of the undead soldiers. All three men had their backs toward a dark alleyway where a young law school intern stood, staring at one hero in particular who had a large red cape. Slowly, the young man began to make his way towards the over grown boy scout, fumbling through his case to a lead plated knife case that held a knife carved purely out of Kryptonite. As his fingers made contact with the case, the wind began to pick up and mini dirt devils formed above several ash piles of the minions that called Hades their master.

At the sight of the undead coming back to a semi-living state, the law student, jumped back into the shadows of another near by alley and watched with interest, but he was the one who wanted to kill the man of steel. He was the one who wanted to watch as the strongest man in the universe took in his final breath. Hades was not going to be the one to take this away from Lex Luthor.

"Watch out," Lex shouted in his disguise and all three heroes snapped their heads in the direction of the voice and saw the resurrection of the undead once more.

"For Pete's sakes, don't these things know when to be dead." Lantern grumbled as he hit one of the creatures right between the eyes. This time, the creature simply stopped in its tracks, licked the tip of the rotting teeth with the decomposing tongue that still occupied the head. The creature had a gleam in the rotting eyes and the beam of light had no effect on it, no matter if the Lantern shot between the eyes, the chest, or even in the eyes. The creatures had become immune to this.

Batman's eyes became huge as saucers that Alfred used to serve afternoon tea on. This couldn't be happening, they had destroyed them, but yet here the undead were, coming back to a zombie state and heading towards them. With lighting fast reflexes, Batman through a bat-a-rang at one and as soon as it made contact, the bat-a-rang exploded, but once the smoke cleared the soulless creatures still stood there.

Suddenly, more creatures began to form from the piles and several more regimes came around corners and began to go towards the superheroes like a magnet to a refrigerator. Without warning, the creatures ran at full speed towards the heroes and began to do hand to hand combat with the heroes once they got close enough.

Still in the form of the law student, Lex saw this and began to retreat more into the alleyway, but the undead paid him no mind as they walked towards the action. Lex needed to talk with a certain Greek god as soon as possible. He balled his hands into a fist and punched a garbage can that tipped over and dumped all of its contents into the alleyway, but any biologist would have seen this, they would have noticed that there were no flies, no rats, or other stray animals going after the spoiled prime rib that had fallen out of the can.

Back at the fight, the battle was resuming all over again and the heroes knew they weren't as fresh as they had been when they landed over an hour ago. As they tried desperately to keep their distances from the creatures, the com links in their ears went off.

"Superman, buddy, you like need to get back up here ASAP!." The youthful voice of The Flash echoed in their ear cannels.

"Flash, I am a little busy right now." Superman blasted a group of undead soldiers, causing them to be flung backwards hitting the buildings behind them hard, but not even putting a dent in even the rags they called clothes.

"What, according to the other landing parties, these guys are on the run. Anyway, it is Lois, she's in labor. Diana got in contact with Jonn and they are in med bay right now."

The Kansas native lost his concentration with his laser beam eyes and the beams disappeared. Why now? He was in the middle of one of the most drooling battles he had ever taken part in, his friends needed him, the league needed him, and so did the citizens of Metropolis. Now, his wife needed him just as much.

"Superman," Batman's voice boomed behind him. "You need to go, you need to go now. We can handle this."

Green Lantern, who was hovering 10 feet above them, had created a loader bucket and was scooping the undead into it and dropping them onto the roves of near by buildings. "trust me on this one," the former Marine instructed, "this is one moment you don't want to miss in your life and if you do miss it, Lois will hunt you down."

With one look around at the two, Superman smiled. "Thank you, you don't know what this means." With that, he leaped into the air and took off with a sonic boom towards the heavens, towards his wife, and more importantly, towards his family.

Once he was gone, Lantern engulfed the dark night in a green bubble and the two men were soon standing next to each other in mid-air looking around below them. Batman quickly got on his comlink to request that Captain Atom come back and assist them. Right now, not only the two of them, but the rest of landing parties needed all the help they could get and combining forces with other landing parties would be the only way to go.


	11. Chapter 11: A Child, A War

Chapter Eleven: A Child, A War

NOTE: I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am also not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please review and let me know what you think. Thanks!

NEW NOTE: Wanted, a Beta Reader

* * *

"I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, "Mother, what was war?" Eve Merriam

Lois Lane-Kent clinched her teeth and squeezed Diana Wayne's hand as she tried to remember those Lamaze breathing techniques. Where was her coach at when she needed him? He was out saving the world while she laid on the birthing table wearing the horrible hospital gown Jonn Jones had made her put on.

"Lois, you need to stay calm and just breath, remember like we learned in Jonn's Lamaze class last week. It went HE HE HOO." Diana stood on Lois's right, trying to calm her friend down by stroking her forehead and hair where perspiration was forming.

Hera, help me, was all Diana could think about as she stood and watched her friend who was in distress. In 4 months, it would be her on that table and would she be able to keep calm and relaxed, something Lois was not doing at that moment.

"I AM GOING TO KILL HIM. He maybe Superman, but Hell hath no furry as a woman in labor. OH GOD, I'M HAVING ANOTHER ONE," Lois finally let out the scream she had been suppressing. She fell back onto the inclined bed and desperately tried to do some Lamaze breathing. "HEE HEE HHAAA AAAAAAAHHHHHH, GOD WHY CAN"T HE BE THE ONE ON THIS TABLE."

The door to the Delivery Room swooshed open and in walked a concerned looking Superman who was making a beeline to Lois' side. He walked around the foot of the bed and stood at her left side. He went to grab her hand that was clinging onto the side of the bed in a death grip, but she grabbed the collar of his uniform and pulled him toward her face.

"SMALLVILLE " she began to pant vigorously, "do you see what you've DONE TO ME." With that, she screamed directly into his ear.

Superman squinted his eyes when the high-pitched scream encountered the man of steel's acute hearing. Diana decided now would be a good time to leave.

"I am going to be leaving now, so if you will both excuse me," Diana said as she pried her hand from Lois' grip and began to make her way towards the door.

"We will let everyone know when the baby comes," Jonn said as he walked through the doorway. "She will be fine Diana, don't worry. Shayera has invited you to wait with her and Rex in the lounge."

With those words, Diana shot one more worried glanced at her friend who was still clinging onto her husband for dear life and groaning as another contraction

swept through her body and walked out the door. She wondered how she would handle the pain and how Bruce would handle the pain of her super powered grip breaking the bones of his hands. The thought of seeing Bruce in pain made her wince as she walked towards the lounge; then again, seeing Lois in that much pain had made her feel uncomfortable and powerless since she couldn't do anything to ease the pain of childbirth. Lamaze was said to work and she needed to talk to someone about these fears she was starting to have about childbirth and she knew just the friend as she walked through the doorway leading into the Lounge. Diana softly placed a caring hand on her baby bump as she walked across the room towards Shayera and Rex.

"Uh oh! You look like you just realized how much childbirth is going to hurt," Shayera stated as she looked up from where she sat on the floor next to her infant son who lay on his back upon the large blue blanket Shayera had spread out for him. The blanket he laid on was big enough for both of his parents to lay on when they played with him.

Diana walked to the other side of Rex and carefully sat down on the blanket and propped herself up against the couch. She sighed heavily and rested her eyes on the infant that was shaking his fist and kicking his feet with all he had. Stretching her left hand towards the baby, Rex let out a delighted squeal through his gummy smile and clutched Diana's index finger.

"No matter what happens, when you see that little face and hear the cry, you forget all about it. Come on, you're an Amazon; you can handle any amount of pain. I've seen you get blasted into a concrete wall and not even flinch or have a lock of hair come out of place," as Shayera talked, she never took her eyes off her son who had become the center of not only her life, but John's life as well.

"I'm worried about the whole process, but I am now worried about what damage I will do to Bruce when the time comes. I maybe mortal, but I still posses all the gifts the gods gave me and when I feel that pain, I have a feeling I won't be able to control those gifts." Diana looked longingly at Rex and gently turned to view her baby bump that lay beneath the hand that was still resting on it.

* * *

War is not a game and should never be thought as of fun, Batman thought to himself as he watched the undead army beneath his feet as he stood in the safety of the giant green bubble. In all his years of crime fighting, he had never felt so helpless, so hopeless as he felt at that moment. The rain started to come down hard and simply slid down the green force field. He went to his com link and made contact with Captain Atom.

"Captain Atom, where are you? These creatures are starting to get a second wind."

"I am just three blocks due north from where I left you guys. Let me get these troops to safety and create a barrier between the troops and these corpses and I will head back your way. Captain Atom out."

Green Arrow's voice came over the com link. " I don't know what you guys are talking about, but when we hit them between the eyes, they just topple over. We haven't seen any reestablishment. What gives?"

"I don't know, but keep an eye out." Batman returned to the archer. Buy the way we are now one man short, Superman had to return to the Watch Tower, Lois has gone into labor."

Oliver Queen paused in mid-stride as he escorted a group of citizens to a rondeavue point. His thoughts flashed back to his own wife, Dinah Laurel-Queen who was also expecting and was due towards the end of August. He thought about how scared she must be with him down here fighting superior villains while she sat up at the Watchtower with monitor duty during this crisis. He considered getting in contact with her via com link, but felt that the situation around him deserved his full attention and if she needed him or wanted to talk with him, she would get in contact with him. He shook the thought out of his mind and focused on making sure the group he was with were fine and scanned the area, but no movement came from the dust piles.

Green Lantern looked at Batman and from the poor posture that the former Marine, Batman knew that the green guardian was becoming weak from the un-dead soldiers draining his powers. The power ring was still working, but it was evident that GL was not able to keep his concentration on controlling the ring.

"I hope Atom gets here fast or we figure out how to finish this whole blasted thing, I'm drained and it is taking all my concentration and energy to keep this bubble around us." John Stewart informed his fellow Leaguer and returned his gaze back to the creatures below him.

* * *

"IT HURTS. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!" Lois screamed as Jonn began to prep her arm to insert the IV.

Jonn looked at Lois bewildered, he was only applying rubbing alcohol to the area where he would insert the needle. The alcohol wouldn't cause her to scream like that, in fact, Lois had never screamed like that before.

"Lois, I am only applying rubbing alcohol to sterilize the," before Jonn could finish, Lois screamed again and intensified her grip on Superman's collar. Clark looked to Jonn, a worried look that the Martian had never seen on his friend before. Jonn put the alcohol wipes back on the medical tray situated near the foot of the birth table and made his way to the end of the bed. With his compassionate hands, Jonn gently made Lois bend her knees and pushed the bottom of her hospital gown towards her chest. As he looked between her legs, his eyes flashed a dark red.

"Clark, I am going to need your help," Jonn looked to his friend who was growing more concerned with each passing moment that his wife was in pain and their was nothing he could do to take that pain away. "She is fine. The baby is crowning and I do not have time to breakdown the bed. I need you to take your left hand," as Jonn was talking, he looked towards Clark's left hand and Lois' bent left leg "and put it behind her left knee and pull it towards Lois. Now take your right hand and put it behind her back to help support her into a more inclined position."

Clark did as he was told, never breaking eye contact with his wife who was panting heavily and was not about to break the grip she had on his collar.

"Lois, I need you to listen to me," as Jonn was talking, Lois broke eye contact with her husband at the mention of her name. Now looking between her bent knees, straight into the eyes of the Martian Manhunter. As always, Jonn was calm and his voice had a soothing effect on Lois as she began to take deep breaths. "It won't be much longer now but I need you to stay calm. First, I need you to put your right hand behind your right knee and pull it back. Now, with the next contraction, I need you to take a deep breath, put your chin to your chest, just like we did in Lamaze, and bare down. Can you do this?"

Lois nodded and pried her right hand from the side of the birthing table where she had latched onto after Diana left and put it behind her knee and pulled it towards her. She was now breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth and was starting to calm down.

After getting into position, she looked up at Jonn, "I'm having a contraction." Jonn nodded and started to prepare for the delivery while Lois took a deep breath in, put her chin to her chest, and bore down with all her might.

"I'm right here Lois, I won't leave you," Clark whispered affectionately as he leaned in closer to his wife.

"OH, SHUT UP YOU AAAAWWWWAW," Lois screamed and thrashed her head from side to side, she was no longer calm. "IT HURTS, I CAN"T DO THIS . . I CAN"T DO THIS."

"Lois, breath in and push again, the head is just about out," Jonn stated without ever looking up at Lois as he began to support the head and reached towards the medical table for the blue suction bulb. "When I tell you to stop, stop pushing so I can suction the baby's mouth and nose."

Lois began to bear down again and Clark curiously looked towards the foot of the bed where Jonn was positioned. Clark watched intently as the head slowly emerge as Lois pushed with all her might.

"Lois," Jonn never looked up," stop pushing while I suction the nose and mouth. If need be, start to pant like a puppy to restrain yourself from pushing. It is vital that I clear the airways for the child to take its first breath." Jonn diligently suctioned the baby's mouth and nostrils. As Jonn started suctioning the mouth, Clark noticed the baby started to suck on the Martian's thumb that was being used to hold the babe's mouth open while he suctioned the throat. Clark smiled down at the child and then looked up at his friend who glanced up at the same time and flashed the new father a genuine smile and returned his attention back to the task at hand.

"Lois, this is the most amazing . . . miracle I have ever witnessed. You should see this," Clark looked from the miracle he was witnessing to the woman who was producing this miracle. Lois was drenched in sweat, her hospital gown clung to her body, her hair was a disaster, but at that moment, Clark had never seen her look so beautiful.

"You should feel . . HE HE HE . . how amazing . . . HE HE HE. . this miracle feels," Lois panted as she glared at her husband. "I need to push, please just let me push," Lois returned her gaze back to the Martian.

"Go ahead Lois," Jonn glanced up at Lois and with both hands supported the newborn as it made its world debut.

Lois took another big breath, pulled her husband toward her and gave it her all. Clark looked at Lois and sporadically kissed her forehead, closed his eyes, placed his forehead against the side of her head and felt the strength she was putting into giving life to their child. She stopped pushing and panted vigorously, trying to catch her breath.

"I love you so much Lois." Clark told his wife as she caught her breath and once again took a deep breath and pushed one last time.

Suddenly a sharp cry came from the end of the bed and Clark opened his eyes, turning to see what had made that sound. What he saw made him tremble and for the first time in a long time, he felt vulnerable, but vulnerable in a good way.

"Congratulations, you have a son," Jonn held up for the proud parents to see the newborn baby whose eyes were starting to blink open and was covered in blood and mucus. Gracefully, Jonn placed the newborn on Lois' stomach.

Lois let go of her knee and placed the hand on her newborn son who had stopped crying when he felt the warm touch of his mother. With the back of her hand, Lois began to stroke her son's arm and maneuvered her head so she could see his eyes and face.

A soft voice came out of nowhere, a voice Clark had never heard uttered from his wife's mouth. "Hi little one. I'm , , , I'm your mommy"

Lois looked up at Clark and withdrew her grip from his collar. She placed the hand on her husband's cheek. "And, this is your daddy. The best daddy in the world. A super-daddy," and with that she smiled at Clark and leaned forward to give him a tender kiss on the lips. Clark with drew his hand from behind Lois' knee and caressed the side of her face with his fingertips.

As she withdrew her hand, she looked back down at her son; she sighed and watched her son move along with her chest. The baby quivered and took his first glimpse of his parents.

"I believe it is an Earth tradition for the father to cut the cord," Jonn smiled and handed a pair of scissors to Clark.

Clark looked from his wife and son to the green Martian holding a pair of scissors and back toward his wife. He gently laid Lois back onto the inclined portion of the table and turned back to the Martian, obtaining the scissors with his right hand. Jonn showed him where to cut and the man of steel couldn't find the strength to cut the umbilical cord. In fact, it took him three tries to cut it and once he started to cut it, his son flinched and Clark stopped cutting. When he saw his son was just sneezing, he finished cutting the cord and gave the scissors back to Jonn.

Clark was relieved to turn back to his wife and know she had not seen his attempt to cut the umbilical cord, but when he saw the way she looked at their son, he felt a surge of love rush through his body. He leaned in towards his new family.

"Lois, thank you. Thank you for giving me a family all my own," as he said that, Clark brought his left hand up towards his son who grabbed his thumb with his little fist and held on as hard as he could.

* * *

Captain Atom looked towards the general who was barking orders at his crew. The troops had formed a horseshoe around the general and superhero that were now up against the side of a building. The general finished barking his orders and turned back to Captain Atom.

"Sir, I have new orders. Once I have this area secured I will escort you and your troops to safety or unite you with a group of citizens on their way to a designated safety area." Captain Atom spoke and once he was finished he saluted the general and turned towards the minions of Ares and Hades who were getting closer to their locations.

As Captain Atom came up behind the troops, he noticed that they weren't shooting their weapons as they had been previously. In fact, the we at ease with weapons lowered. This didn't seem to be right and the form military man also noticed that these men and women were cool as cucumbers, meaning that they weren't trembling, no sweat ran down their brows, and no sweat spots were located anywhere on the uniforms. This seemed peculiar to him, but once he turned towards the general once again a shocked gasp exited the superheroes mouth.

The general stood right behind him with a wide smile on his face and he raised his hands to a stop position. The captain made a quick glance towards the undead legions that once the general's hands went up, they stopped at once. Captain Atom looked back to the general who started to smile at him and in a form of morphing that would rival any computer-generated special effect, General Davenport transformed into Ares, Greek god of War. The superhero knew who he was, being a member of the Justice League, the former armed forces man had taken time to memorize all the villains in the Justice League computers and knew this shady character had brought problems form Hawk, Dove, and Wonder Woman.

"So, kid, do you have any flattery for me now?" the god's voice boomed in the silence and in one quick movement, seized the superhero by the neck with both of this hands and not only started to squeeze, but he also began to slice through the costume as his fingernails transformed into sharp dragon like claws. "If you request, my army does know Taps." With those words, the god shot up into the sky, hands still around the neck of the former Air Force officer and sparks of atomic fluid starting to streak out of the punctured suit that protect people from the atomic material and kept Nathaniel Atom alive. Everything happened so quickly; Nathaniel didn't have a chance to scream, to make contact with his fellow leaguers, or to say his final prayers.

An odd sound caught Batman, Green Lantern, and other league members in the downtown vicinity, including Green Arrow, off guard. It was the sound of something taking off towards the sky above. All eyes went towards the heaven where Captain Atom was cruising towards the sky, lighting and rain draped around his lifeless body. Flowing like teardrops from his body, blue streams of atomic matter followed the superhero on his final journey.

From where he stood, Green Arrow followed his fellow comrade with his eyes and in his mind he recalled several years ago when the same crisis had occurred. Captain Atom has obtained a rip in his uniform and had sky rocketed out of the Earth's atmosphere into space where Jonn had been able to recover his molecules and put together a new suit, but what was playing out in front of him, Oliver Queen knew this was different.

From the look of things, this was not a good situation and it was hopeless. Looking at the pose of the atomic superheroes, he was either close to death or he had already taken his last breath. The head of the champion was tilted back at a very sharp angle, his lands were limp at his sides, and his muscular legs seemed to be more like string cheese by the way the limbs simply dangled. From where he stood, Green Arrow began to wonder if something was dragging the limp body towards the heaven, the scene playing out in front of the famed archer reminded him of seeing limp bodies being pulled after an attack.

Before anyone could react a small flutter started to occur around the center of the limp, blue body and within minutes and massive ripple effect occurred miles above the heart of Metropolis and all the bystanders had to shade their eyes from the explosion. The ripples protruded themselves across the sky and a few made it to Earth, especially towards Batman and Green Lantern. Once the ripple hit the green bubble, the green guardian couldn't focus or maintain the strength to keep the bubble formed and with one large pop, both heroes fell to the ground, but were immediately surrounded by the undead armies.

With their skill, Batman and Green Lantern were able to keep them at bay for a few moments, but before they knew it, they were outnumbered, fatigued, and at a lost for ideas. The zombie lie creatures had veloca-raptor like fingers and began to strike both heroes, spilling blood and creating deep wounds that would need medical attention eventually.

As they continued there hand to hand combat, the blood from their cut flesh trickled down their uniforms and pooled on the sidewalk. Fist came in contact with rotting flesh, but no matter how hard they hit, nothing seemed to faze these creatures, but their precedence was sure taking a toll on the heroes by absorbing their strength and not, to Batman anyway, it felt like they were now starting to suck out his soul, his very life source that made him the vigilante he is or would it be the vigilante he was.

As their firsts came in contact with yet other round of zombies, a bone chilling wind with the aroma of stale death shot past them and the zombies simply froze and were gone, being blown with the wind towards the large crater. Just as mysteriously as the crater had been formed, it was now filled as if nothing had happened, but something had happened. The two superheroes looked around them at the destruction, at the ruins that had once been a beautiful downtown Metropolis, and walked in the river that consisted of dust, rubble, and blood more so than water. It was over or was it just the beginning?


	12. Chapter 12: Love & War

Chapter Twelve: Love and War

NOTE: I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am also not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please review and let me know what you think. Thanks!

* * *

"Two things greater than all things are, the first is Love and the second is War." Kipling

* * *

"Shayera, how do you do it? How can you get anything done with Rex around? When ever I'm around him, I can't concentrate on anything else, I just become immersed in him." Diana looked up at Shayera who sat on the other side of the blanket. For the last fifty minutes or so, Shayera had help calm her fears about childbirth, but she was still worried about hurting Bruce.

"I don't know how to explain it, but when I have to pick up stuff around our quarters or the apartment, I get this will power to provide for him, to give him the best I can offer." Shayera ran her fingers through her red hair as she looked at the Amazon who seemed more like a sister than a friend.

When Shayera made the comment, something from the past came to Diana's mind. The dream she had where Hera had told her she was pregnant. Under her breath, Diana whispered, "like a new source of strength."

"You should ask me about the will power I get when Rex falls asleep early and John wants to enjoy some time in the ."

Before she could finish, Jonn's voice came over their com links. "Shayera and Diana, please report to Med Bay."

Diana and Shayera shot worried looks at each other. Dianna floated to her feat and Shayera picked up Rex and stood up. They both flew out of the lounge and down the hall.

"It hasn't even been an hour, what is going on?" Shayera asked as she shot a look towards Diana.

"I don't know, but she was in a vast amount of pain. What if something has happened?" Diana stared forward the whole time, not even flinching as she flew past league members.

As they were about to reach the Med Bay, both women landed carefully in front of Star Sapphire. Ever since Shining Knight had saved her during the events that led to the banishment of Lex Luthor, the two had fallen in love and had been married for over a year now. Sapphire had proven herself trustworthy many times, but it had taken almost a year before she became an official member of the league.

Shayera handed Rex to Sapphire without hesitation or making eye contact with the new leaguer. Her eyes were dead set on the entrance to the Med Bay. "We're needed in Med Bay can you please watch Rex. Thanks you're a life savior."

Star Sapphire held the infant in her arms and followed Shayera and Diana with her eyes, but then looked back down at Rex. She had a bemused look on her face, but walked over to the row of chairs in the waiting area and took a seat, putting Rex on her lap.

Diana walked in first followed by Shayera and they came face to face with Jonn

The Martian had never been able to keep a straight face, but this time he was able to and he gave the two married women a smile that would make Bruce Wayne jealous.

* * *

From behind a large dumpster, Wesley Makoto stooped to conceal himself from the heroes and continued to watch their movements with interest and with wonder of his own. What had happened? What had he just witnessed?

All who had ever worked with Lex Luthor, who thanks to the powers of Ares and Hades was able to masquerade as Wesley Makoto, knew that you never wanted leave Luthor out of the circle on what was going on. At that moment, Lex was not happy, he was not happy at all.

A regal general came out from behind a building, running with the skill of a man who knew better than to make a sound when in enemy territory. He shouted to the two superheroes as rain plastered his dark hair to his scalp and his now skin tight fatigues outlined the massive body that was capable of bringing fear to any enemy.

"Is it over," the former Marine asked as General Davenport approached quickly, but showed no sign of being out of breath.

"We don't know, but the main thing is to make sure to get all injured parties to safety and to calm fears of the public. Wouldn't you agree with that? We truly can't go after them, I have no idea where they went and we don't have a lead where they came from." The General said looking from one hero to the other.

"Actually, we," before Steward could finish, Batman held out a hand to the green guardian.

"Actually, you are right, we don't have a lead and we do need to make sure that everything is safe and secure. Let us get in contact with our fellow leaguers to see what their statues are." As the Dark Knight of Gotham talked, Green Lantern's comlink beeped and he excused himself from the group.

Returning to his conversation, the Gotham Knight looked the general straight in they eyes. "What happened to Captain Atom?"

A look of pure terror engulfed the decorated war veteran and he started to tremble. "I . . I don't know. We were fighting off a few of those things when, when." A lump had formed in his throat and the war veteran crumbled to his feet. This took Batman off guard as he watched the figure slump to the ground.

"I've lost men before, but never like that. It was as if the devil himself grabbed him, punctured his suit and then just took him straight up into the sky, just as a raptor would pluck an un-expecting animal out and haul it up to the nest. I tell you Batman . . . what I saw, I've only seen in the movies where men go out after dinosaurs or some mutated creatures."

Noticing he was on the ground, the general quickly regained his senses and stood up, looking eye to eye with the vigilante who had caused more than one villain to quack in his shoes. "Just tell me, what the HELL we are up against. Is this an alien, is this some stupid promotion trick, what?"

"We are working on that and as soon as the Justice League knows something, the Army and President of the United State will know as well." With the prestige of a gentleman of diplomatic background, the dark crusader offered his right hand the general took it without hesitation and shook it. "You have the promise of the Justice League. We need to work together and we need to share material with each other, do we have your trust on this?"

"You better believe it, united we can conquer this." The general answered, but looked towards Green Lantern who was coming up along side Batman.

"We are need at the med bay up in the Watch Tower. They will be teleporting us shortly." The Green Lantern looked towards the general. "Green Arrow will be in charge of the ground support for the Justice League now. You can find him near the Daily Planet." With those words, the two league members turned around and a colorful haze surrounded them and they were gone.

Keeping in character, the general turned and made his way towards the alley where Luthor stood. Not sure what to make of it, Wesley came forward and started the rehearsed speech he had come up with just incase something like this would occur.

"Officer, what has happened?" The concerned youth's voice rang out.

"Nothing you should be worried about," was all the general said, but suddenly a new voice came out of the mouth of the high ranking official.

"Nothing our masters hadn't already had planned." Darkseid's voice boomed from the very lips that had just told Batman they were working together. With a swift movement, the general began to step to his left and to his right at the same time, but instead of collapsing due to the lack of support, two stood where one had just been.

Darkseid was on the general's left. The general now had glass like eyes and seemed to pay no mind to the two inhabitants of the space. Darkseid flashed the young lawyer a smile and shook his head.

"Once you have a Greek god put a spell on these humans, they are very docile and will do anything you want, once you occupy their souls. Now, he is free of me, but big brother Hades is still watching. Think of it as the ultimate reality TV." The villainous dictator told him.

"Your telling me, that the general has no memory of you being in him?"

"Nope, in fact I have implanted memories so he doesn't freak when he realizes he has gaps in his memory. The act he just put on, it was half I, but also half him reliving the terrible memories that I installed in him. Though, I have to admit, those weren't the most terrible memories I could come up with, but we didn't want to send him into an insane asylum. We still have plans for him." The stone creature looked towards the general and acting like he was shooing a fly, the bumpy hands knocked the puppet like general on the ground and bellowed, "you can go now."

Instantly, the general stood up and continued on his way, as if nothing had happened.

"Now then, shall we head back to Hades' Lair?" Luthor asked in his full disguise.

With that the two servants of evil walked into a portal to take them to the other side, but once Luthor entered the portal, his disguise was shed and the young law student found himself going back after the general in hopes of figuring out what he had just witnessed.

* * *

"What happened? Is she okay? Is their something wrong with the baby? Is Clark taking everything okay?" Diana asked before Jonn could properly greet them.

"Calm down Diana. Lois is fine and so is her son. She delivered less than 30 minutes after you left. It was a quick delivery. Lois is doing fine and Clark stood by her side providing comfort and the support she needed."

The two women glanced at each other and then gave a sly look back at Jonn.

"You can go in and see them, but make it short. Mom and baby need their rest and Clark needs to go start calling people." Before Jonn had even finished talking, both of them were taking strides toward the delivery room and disappeared as the door swooshed close.

This visit to the delivery room was more comfortable than when she had been in the same room earlier that day and Diana felt her heart flutter with excitement as she saw Lois holding her son. Clark stood at her side, never once looking up to see who had come in, but staring devotedly at his newborn son.

Lois had turned her head to see who had come to visit. She was reclining peacefully on a full bed now with a blanket draped over her. She still talked in her low, whisper like voice, "well, don't be shy, come on over."

Lois didn't need to say that twice, Shayera and Diana hastily made their way to the side of the bed. The newborn was swaddled in a rainbow colored blanket and was sleeping in his mother's arms.

Diana felt that same feeling of intoxication overrun her system just as it had when she visited Shayera after the birth of Rex. This time, the intoxication was met with some fluttering that came from within her stomach. Without realizing it, Diana's hand went once again to her baby bump as she looked on at the Kent family.

"Look at all that dark hair and if he would open his eyes, we could tell what color eyes he has," Shayera said as she looked into the swaddled bundle.

Lois shot Shayera a confused look, "we never told you it was a boy?"

"No," answered Diana, "but Jonn told us you had a son."

"Well, their goes some of the surprise, good thing we didn't tell him the name," Lois said as she looked over at her husband with a disappointed look.

"So, what did you name him?" Shayera asked looking from Lois and then to Clark. Both of them shot her a mischievous grin and shook their heads.

"Sorry, we will not reveal the name until all founding members of the Justice League have arrived," Clark shot back.

Right on queue, the doors swooshed open and emerged Flash. As he took his first steps into the room, he stopped, lifted he hands to his head, and removed his mask placing it on the table next to the doorway.

"Never fear little guy, uncle Flash is here." Wally couldn't suppress the smile on his face as he walked over to the group and looked down at the sleeping child. "And I was expecting to walk in and find the little guy flying around the room."

"Let me guess," Lois stated in her normal voice, "Jonn told you that we had a boy."

"Yeah he did. But he never mentioned a name."

"That is because we didn't tell him the name." Lois shot back at Wally, but her scowl disappeared as she looked back into the face of the sleeping cherub in her arms.

"Oh, he probably knows Lois, but he also knows how much we wanted to announce it to the founding members." Clark looked at his wife and then at his colleagues. He then looked back at Lois, and she nodded as if she was saying yes to a question she was only meant to hear. With that, he carefully took the sleeping infant from her arms, walked around the foot of the bed towards the others who were walking towards him and his son.

"He is 7 lbs, 4 oz and is 19 inches long." Clark announced as he handed his child to Diana who gracefully accepted him.

"I forgot how small they can be at birth," Shayera whispered as she looked at the baby who had started to open his eyes.

"Well, don't get any ideas. I thought we agreed no more children until Rex was out of diapers," boomed the deep voice of John Stewart who, along with Batman and Jonn, had come into the room undetected while the rest of the league hovered around Clark.

Clark turned towards the door and smiled at the three men. His smile faded as he saw the look in Green Lantern's eyes and the cuts all over Batman's uniform where blood was starting to pool within the material. He had left his comrades in the heat of battle, but they had told him his place was beside his wife. Clark was indeed gratefully for his comrades for letting him witness this miracle, but at seeing how beaten they were, a sea of guilt overwhelmed him.

"What happened?" Diana asked, looking towards her husband. As she turned around to get a better view of him, the baby within her arms began to stir and let out a cry. Diana's gaze on Bruce was broken the moment the baby had started to cry and she shot a look back at Bruce. "Maybe you should remove your cowl, Wally was kind enough to do that when he walked into the room."

Bruce didn't giver her a glare or try to protest, but removed the cowl and laid it next to Wally's on the table.

With a smile of gratitude, Diana turned toward Lois and handed the child back to her.

"I think it is best if we left mother and son to do some bonding while Lois nurses him. He is probably famished." Jonn stated as he looked at the founding members of the league.

"First, Lois and I wanted tell everyone that you are all his honorary godparents." Clark announced.

"Gee, I wonder where you got that great idea from," Shayera asked sarcastically as she folded her arms across her chest.

"We felt it was only fair to do it this way than to pick out only two. Plus, several members of the Daily Planet will also be his honorary godparents as well." Clark explained himself and with that Shayera shrugged and returned her arms to her side.

"But," Clark made his way back to Lois' side. "Lois and I would like to introduce all of you to Samuel Jonathan Kent, but we will call him Sammy. He was named after both of his earthly grandfathers and his Kryptonian name is Van-El in memory of his Kryptonian heritage."

"And with that," Jonn interrupted Clark before he could go on, "Shayera has agreed to help Lois with the nursing and the rest of us need to meet in the conference room. Superman, will you please join us?"

Clark shot a glance to Lois, but all she did was point her head toward the Justice League. He smiled at her, kissed her passionately on the lips and whispered, "I love you so much."

"I know Smallville. Now go and save the world." Lois smiled at Clark and looked back down at her son who had started fussing again.

Shayera walked towards the hospital bed while the rest of the visitors walked out into the Med Bay waiting area. Flash and Batman grabbed their cowls and put them on their heads before fully emerging into the Med Bay waiting area.

Shining Night had now joined his wife as they played with the infant. As Green Lantern casually walked past the two lovebirds who were both thinking about starting a family all there own, he shot them a misbehaviorly smile and asked, "we have a meeting up in the conference room. Would you guys mind watching Rex a little longer? I would really appreciate it."

Without uttering a word, the two sitting on the chairs nodded with large smiles and looked back to the baby.

Batman was know walking next to Diana and he carefully put his arms around her, guiding his fingertips to her swollen belly to make sure the baby was all right and to gently nuzzle his wife's neck, saying a prayer to thank who ever could hear him that part of his family was safe. Once they got in the conference room, he would make contact with the other members of the Batman-Clan to make sure everything was all right with them.

Clark Kent, known to the world as Superman, known to Lois Lane-Kent as husband, and now known as daddy to Sammy Kent walked slowly behind the group and thought about all the adventures that were soon to come as his son grew up. Then as he was thinking back to the past three hours, he began to wonder what kind of life his son would have after battling undead soldiers and dealing with unknown forces. Would his love for his new family win over the war that was brewing.


	13. Chapter 13: Know the Enemy Know Yourself

Chapter 13: Know the Enemy, Know Yourself

* * *

Wow! Thanks for all the reviews! I truly do hope you guys are enjoying this and I must apologize for not updating as often as I would like, but I figure if I can get at least one chapter out a month, I will be doing good! Keep those reviews coming and I look forward to hearing from all of you.

**

* * *

**

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself you will succumb in every battle.

-_Sun-Tzu__, __The Art of War Translated from the Chinese by LIONEL GILES, M.A. (1910)_

* * *

Maybe it was the mood or perhaps it was the reality that for the first time since the establishment of the Justice League, no one knew who or what they were up against that made the atmosphere in the Watch Tower meeting room feel heavy and uncomfortable to all the inhabitants. Within the last twenty minutes, the founding members had made contact with their family members back on Earth. Batman and Diana Prince-Wayne got in contact with Alfred along with the boys and were reassured that all was fine, but nothing had occurred in Gotham City, in fact, it had been a rather windy day with very little activity. Superman got in contact with his parents to inform them were now proud grandparents of a grandson. He asked if they would pass the word that Baby Sammy had been born at home under the care of Dr. Leslie Thompkins since she had been out on a visit to the stables when the attacks had occurred and when Lois went into labor. The truth was, Dr. Thompkins had been at the bat cave, helping Alfred go through the medical supplies just as she did every three-month to make sure everything was well supplied. Bruce and Clark had quickly worked out the details from their original plans for the story in regards to the birth of Sammy Kent. Superman also asked if his parents could call and let Lois' parents and sister know the good news as well.

As the other members continued to get in contact with family and friends down on Earth they became to realize, Metropolis was the only target for this attack. All over the world, no other place had received a beating or a visit from such strange creatures like what Metropolis had received. At once, all focus turned towards friends, family, and fellow league members who were in Metropolis. Green Arrow was contacted and his face flashed up on the big screen once a link was made.

"This is Green Arrow," the famed archer's face came in on the major view screen of the briefing room that was inhabited with Batman, a pregnant Wonder Woman

and a VERY pregnant Black Canary, Jonn Jones, Superman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl who had finished helping Lois with Sammy, and Flash. Along with Black Canary, who was not the only non-original Justice League Member to be present, Zantana stood behind her friend who had started treating over the safety of her husband and to calm her down, it was determined to allow Black Canary and Zantana to come into the briefing rooms since both of them knew the true identities of the original members.

"Justice League, can you hear me?" Oliver Queen's voice boomed in the briefing room as his image fizzled in and out. One moment, there would be color, the next moment the picture would be in a gray haze and then the picture would return to color.

"Green Arrow, we copy. Please give us a brief report of the situation." Batman replied to the image.

"Green Arrow, this is Black Canary, how are you doing? Are you hurt?" the concerned wife leaned forward on her chair and folded her hands, almost in prayer and propped her chin on her hands. She stared deeply at the image of her husband.

The image shook his head from side to side and smiled at the video camera that was mounted in his Javelin that had been pounded from the outside, but was still functioning in regards to the electrical and navigational systems.

"Yes Tweety, I am perfectly fine. More importantly, I hope you haven't worried to much." The archer answered back as his picture fuzzed in and out of focus. "Anyway, the landing parties are working to keep the citizens calm, make sure those who are in need of medical assistance are taken to the nearest clinic or hospital, riots are handled, and," the hero's voice began to falter, "bodies are covered up and taken to local morgues or temporary morgues that have been set up across the city."

Silence engulfed the room, but it was short lived as the voice on the video came back. "What happened to Captain Atom?"

At the mention of this, Wonder Woman, Shayera, Superman, and Flash all looked from the video to Batman and Green Lantern who were seated at the middle of the table with the other members to there left and right. Even Black Canary and Zantana looked from the video to each other and to the other members seated at the table.

"He is no longer with us," was all Jonn Jones could say as he came out of his meditation once he realized that he couldn't make psychic connection with the former League member.

"During the battle," Green Lantern's voice chimed in, "Atom went off with General Davenport and not thirty minutes after he left, we made radio contact with him, told him to get back with us, but before he could, something happened."

"What happened? Did he get attacked?" Superman asked.

"We don't know," Batman broke in, "it was as if something grabbed him by the throat or chest and took off towards the heavens with him, but it looked like his body was already limp by the time he hit at least 800 feet. I would estimate that his containment suit gave out at about 10 miles above the Earth's surface, but that is only an estimate. The radiation that leaked from his suit was distributed in waves, but I would say the most lethal amount of radiation occurred directly under where Atom died." Quickly, once he figured out what he had just said, the caped crusader turned back to the video feed of Green Lantern. "This means we have to consider that people in the downtown area may have radiation poisoning and if you and the other members of the landing parties can get to them quickly, we should be able to give them the treatment they need. Make sure to get the names of those who were contaminated with radiation so we can have someone check up on them to make sure no further health problems occur with them. What else do you have?"

"Dr. Light, Booster Gold, and Nightwing are heading up the north sector towards Siegel Memorial Park. To the east at Bates Memorial Arboretum, the team is headed up by Stargirl, STRIPE, and Batgirl. The team of Aquaman, Robin, and Dr. Fate are in charge of the Cane Riparian Picnic Area leaving Huntress, Question, and Vigilante to head up the Marston Band Shell Park on the west side." Green Arrow answered. "I can also inform you that there is no sign of those things that attacked us and even the citizens that were killed by their souls being sucked out, their bodies are gone as well. How we will take a final count, I am not sure, but we will think of something when the time comes. At the movement, I am more worried about helping the living. As we have been going, those who were killed by flying debris or other more natural causes of death, we have been putting a sheet over their bodies and relocating them to morgues or make shift morgues so we don't have to worry about a breakout of disease."

"Good to hear and please keep us informed and let Jonn know if you need more ground support. Watch Tower out." Superman gave the final directions, switched the video off, and turned his attention back to the members who were present. "What do we know so far?"

"We know that what ever we are up against, we have never seen before except maybe a horror film. You know, the type that makes junior high girls scream," Flash told his group, but as he looked around at their faces, he realized his attempt to lighten the mood was not working so he fell silent and slumped back into his chair.

"Did anyone notice the static, it wasn't regular static you would expect from disturbance caused static from lightning or overhead wires," Zantana spoke up from where she stood behind Black Canary as she pulled out her wand and said a few spells backwards and in a whispered tone. Immediately the screen came back and similar to a DVR system, the image of Green Arrow came back online and she paused it at a point where Green Arrow had been talking, but the leagued noticed something else.

"While Arrow was talking, I kept getting this vibe that something paranormal was somehow interfering with this broadcast. If you look over above and below Green Arrow, you notice that these static lines actually form an image of a devil or demon." With the use of her wand, she circled the areas she was talking about and it was true, above and below the hero the static lines formed a devil like creature on the top and a demon on the bottom. As she resumed the film at half speed, it was obvious that the static lines would appear just as lines, but in a few frames the lines made definite figures and even at one point, Green Arrows image fizzled out and a gut wrenching scream pierced the eardrums of the league members who quickly covered their ears at the sound, but watched as an image of a flesh decaying face grazed the screen, but was quickly replaced with Green Arrow.

"Judas Priest, what was that?" Green Lantern bellowed as he took his hands away from his ears and looked from the screen to Zantana. "Why didn't we hear that before?"

"Because we heard the video at two different frequencies, one at normal speed and the other at a much slower speed and frequency." Batman answered as he looked from Green Lantern to Zantana. "For once, I'm not going to deny this, but I think it is something more than paranormal, but what exactly I don't know. This is a strange situation and we need to work with all of our allies and even with our enemies because we don't know who this enemy is and we need to figure out first who is with us and then who our enemy is that we are dealing with." He looked around the table and the members began to shake their heads in agreement.

"Shayera, Flash, and myself will get in contact with Lex Luthor's Legion of Doom or what ever they did coin themselves." Green Lantern informed the League.

"Hey, why me?" came the concerned voice of Flash.

"Because, Giganta still has a thing for you and knowing your charm, you will get her to side with us." Shayera informed the scarlet speedster with a smirk on her face.

"I'm married, remember?" He shouted back showing her his left hand, but then he realized it was gloved and his wedding ring was hidden, his smile faded.

"Wally West may be married, but Flash is still single, remember?" Diana Prince-Wayne shot back with a smile as she sat next to her husband. She quickly grew serious and turned back towards the league, "I will get in contact with the Amazons to bring them up to speed on what we know and to see if they would be willing to fight alongside us."

The entire league went silent and all eyes turned towards Diana.

"Princess," Shayera broke the silence, "maybe I or even Zantana should go or I'm sure."

"Why should I be sidelined from this mission?" Diana stood up, slamming her hands down on the table. "I am still a member of this team and as a member, I should pull my own weight."

All eyes were upon the princess and she quickly turned beat red and quickly returned to her seat. "Sorry, but since I got married I have felt like I have been dead weight and I want to prove to you that I am still a superhero and that even in this condition I can do good."

"Maybe I should come with you, John and Flash can take care of the doom squad." Shayera broke into Diana's sentence. "Besides, you may need reinforcement when your mother notices there is something different about you."

"What about me," Black Canary protested as she tried to get out of the her chair, but finally gave up as Zantana put a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, maybe not right this moment, but give me at least 2 to 3 weeks to join up with you."

Smiles graced the faces of the rest of everyone at the table minus Batman's face, but he quickly returned to the subject at hand. "From Green Arrow's report, Aquaman must have gotten word about the attacks so we will need someone to go and talk with him."

Zantana spoke up, "I will get in contact with Aquaman."

"I will then look through our report files and get a list started of others we will need to get in contact with and hand out assignments." The Gotham Night chimed in. "Jonn, we will also need to keep in contact with the World Governments, in particular the U.S. Armed forces through General Davenport."

The Manhunter nodded and stood up. "If you don't need anything else from me, I need to get back to monitor duties. Black Canary, you can retire for the night you had a long day and relaxing might be the best thing for you to do." With no one objecting, Jonn stood up and walked out the sliding doors.

"Zantana," Batman broke in "please review these tapes and before you do that, I want you to go down there and see what you can find."

The magician nodded her acceptance and assisted Black Canary up and out the doors. As they were leaving the room, the rest of the assembly continued to talk about other groups they would need to get in contact with. As they talked, Shayera got up and walked over to Diana.

"Sorry to jump on you like that Princess, but I figured that you need some sort of backup when you go in to talk with your mother. I mean, when was the last time an Amazon got pregnant?" Shayera asked.

"Point taken and I would be honored if you accompany me back to Themyscira. Besides, my mother absolutely adores you." The princess returned to her friend as she stood up and acompanied her friend back to the waiting room where Shining Knight and Star Saphire were taking care of Rex.

"Oh," the princess stopped in mid stride, all of a sudden her head began to ache and she looked towards Batman and Superman who were discussing their personal plans of attakces. "By the way, Gaea is dead and when I was running around trying to find my com link, a piece of flying debris must have hit me on the back of my head and I was knocked out."

"WHAT," Batman dropped his word tablet he had been holding and rushed towards his wife. As he approached her, he grabbed his flashlight out of his utility belt and shined the lights in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell anyone about this? How are you feeling? Any dizinesse, nausea, or severe fatigue?"

As her eyes dilated when they came in contact with the light, the Amazon Princess spoke up. "I am fine and if you need me to, I will go down to sick bay, talk with Jonn and get a quick check over. How does that sound?"

"Sounds to me," the dark knight voiced "you want to go see Sammy before you head to bed tonight. Don't try to butter me up Princess, I know your intentions. Just make sure you go to sick bay and have get a check over. You know I will be checking to make sure you went."

Smiling angelically, the Amazon Princess kissed her husband on the lips and walked out ot fhe room right behind Shayera and made her way towards sick bay.

* * *

The dry air ruffled the raven locks of the tall, dark figure that loomed over his subject upon the dark marbled terrace. Hades, Greek god of the underworld looked down at his sea of minions, demons, and walking skeletons. He smiled for he was satisfied with what he saw.

"And, just what in blazes is going on around here?" Lex Luthor's voice rang out from behind the god, but he already knew the pitiful mortal was back in Tartarus, but figured Lurthor would come to find him soon enough.

"I must commend you Lex, you sure know what you want. You accept the powers I and Ares bestow upon you, but you are not willing to take part in our plans." The god turned on his heels to face the caller. "But, you seem to have your own agenda, you seem to be more interested in what you want and not what I, your master who saved you, wants. Don't forget the hand the feeds you and gives you your source of power."

The bald man in his three-piece suit continued to walk towards the god, but stopped ten feet from the eternal being. Hades had a point, but that didn't give him the excuses to not keep Lex in the fold.

"You are right Hades, but you are also wrong. I wouldn't have my OWN agenda if I had a clue about what was truly going on around here." Lex snapped back, not even considering the consequences.

Hades kept a stone face, but a sly smirk came across his face. He had to hand it to Luther, the man was brave, bold, and probably sharp as a tack, but he needed to learn his place. "You had your assignment to look into the dealings of Clark Kent, AKA Superman and to track down my daughter and when you didn't come up with anything, I decided to go into plan B."

"I was about to come back to you with information, but " before Luthor could finish, he felt his body levitate off the ground and come towards the god. A mere inch from the god's face he started to sweat and became quiet.

"Do you need your proxy body any longer?" The god's deep voice boomed.

"Well, I don't know." Luthor began to fumble his words and wiggled like a worm on a hook. I guess I got the," before he could finish his sentence, Luthor regain he composure and remembered what he had figured out. Diana Prince-Wayne and Wonder Woman were one and the same. That was his ace up his sleeve, as long as he knew that but Hades didn't he was safe. "I mean I was on the right trail, but it went cold and my proxy body didn't have the authorization to get the information I needed to get back on the trail."

'Way to go Lex,' Superman's archenemy thought to himself. "Now, to bring home the bacon and bag the Oscar for best actor in a dramatic role."

"I figured I could get around that detour some how and I must admit Hades, I have been frustrated with lack of progress and I have been snapping at ever, even this morning at the office, before I took my lunch break, I got in trouble for talking back to one of the partners at the firm." At that point, Hades lowered Luthor to the ground and the grown man gave a thankful smile to the god for returning him to his feet and to listening to him. With a swift movement, Luthor bowed in front of the god. "Please forgive me, I became discouraged and I wanted to prove to you and to Ares that I am grateful for all you have bestowed upon me, but I didn't want to seem to clingy when I would come back to you each time I hit a speed bump on my quest, but looking back I should have come back to you for assistance once the trail started to get cold and my proxy body was no longer working." The bald man had now returned to his full height and looked up at the god with a worn out look plastered across his face and dark circles highlighting his eyes. "Please forgive me for my outbreak."

Hades still contained his stone face, but simply lifted his right hand and flipped his wrist towards the entrance. "You are forgiven, but please don't let this happen again or else you will see my wrath."

With that, Luthor turned around and walked away with a sly grin on his face. All those years of learning how to alter your facial expressions to milk boards, the public, and even the government for all they were work had come in handy. As he was about to cross the threshold, the voice of the underworld boomed once more.

"Luthor, I take it then you will need a new proxy body?" The Lord of the underworld echoed.

"If that isn't to much to ask for." Luthor shot over his shoulders with a twinge of guilt embedded in his voice to put the icing on the cake.

"It will be taken care of and you will have a new proxy within the next week." Hades answered back as he watched the once powerful businessman round the corner and exit the area.

The god looked away from the entrance and towards his left where the balcony and the gothic style castle met, creating a dark hiding place. From the hiding place, two bright red eyes shown back and began to move towards the god. As the creature came out of the shadow, Darkseid smiled as he made his way towards Hades.

"You know he plays you for a fool, right?" Darkseid asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Let him think that for the more power I give him, the more obsessed he will become with it and the easier it will be to bring him down once I know longer need him. But, he knows something," Hades looked towards the entrance as two of his minions walked by, stopped, bowed towards him and continued on their way in opposite directions. The extra guards were to make sure no one was listening in on Hades conversations, for he had found out Lex had overheard the conversation Hades and Ares had several months ago. Knowing that the coast was clear, Hades turned his head back towards the former dictator.

"You were right about timing of the attack and that they would be paralyzed, but how did you know this?" the god asked.

"I will reveal it to you know, but first lets talk about phase two of my Plan B that has worked flawlessly so far." Darkseid answered as he took the invitation from Hades who held out his hand to lead the conspirator to his study and out of prying eyes and ears.

* * *

After receiving a clean bill of health and giving one last kiss to Sammy Kent, Diana retreated to her quarters she shared with her husband. Within the abode, a king sized bed was up against the bay window that looked out towards the stars and the bay window acted as a headboard, housing pictures of family, a futuristic looking alarm clock, and a video screen with up to date information on duty rosters. A large couch bordered an adjoining wall, the bathroom facilities were accessed through the doorway next to the couch, and opposite the bed was a large desk with matching chair that was built of solid oak wood.

Walking past the Mediterranean themed paintings, Diana entered the bathroom facilities where she enjoyed a tepid bubble bath and contemplated about the events that had happened in the last 24 hours. The future was uncertain and recalling the conversation she had with Lois earlier that day, Diana knew she had to do something before it was to late. She ended her bath earlier than usual, but knew what she had to do would be more important than her hour-long soak she would take after long missions. After she had dried off, Diana put on a maternity sized nightgown along with the matching robe and slippers. With a final combing of her hair, she went straight to the desk, pulled out a monogrammed scroll sized letterhead from one of the side drawers, pulled out an ink pen and began to write.

_**To Her Highness, Hippolyta Queen of the Amazons:**_

_**I, your daughter, known as Diana Princess of the Amazons, Wonder Woman, and Diana Prince-Wayne request your permission to step foot on Themascarya in order to have an audience with you in private. Since my banishment from Themascarya, I have been working with the Justice League to protect not only the Earth, but also the universe that our planet resides within. Along with working with the Justice League, I became engaged and married Bruce Wayne. I thank you for coming to my wedding that occurred earlier this year.**_

_**The reason for this audience with you is in regards to league business along with a personal issue that I wish to discuss with you, as your daughter. Please respond to me at the Watchtower on if my request is granted. Hermes knows where to find me.**_

_**Signed,**_

_**Your Little Sun & Stars**_

As she rolled the scroll up, a gust of wind blew her damp hair and standing next to the desk was Hermes, messenger of the gods and Amazons. The Amazon Princess turned towards him and handed the scroll over to the courier.

"Any special instructions?" the wise cracking god asked as he accepted the scroll and placed it in his shoulder bag.

"Please regard this scroll as confidential and take it to my mother, Queen Hippolyta as quickly as you can. She will send a response back to me, please bring that scroll to me, here in my quarters. I will be waiting."

The messenger whistled and leaned in towards her. "Not everyday a pretty girl waits for me in her quarters."

With that, he was gone and Diana sighed and pushed herself away from the desk. Since the desk was high and big enough, it concealed her expanding belly. With that done, she made her way back to the bed, pulled the covers up and climbed into the pillow top bed, falling asleep as soon as she came in contact with the pillow.

* * *

Deep in the heart of Metropolis, members of the Justice League and Metropolis Police continued to place sheets over the dead, the lucky dead who were not transformed into mindless pawns by the devastating undead soldiers. As they continued to lay white sheet after white sheet upon corpses and 'tag' the dead while someone used an electronic note pad to put in details about the tag and the corpse that was assigned to the number on the tag, one cadaver seemed out of place. While the others had visual signs on broken necks, blood oozing out of mouths and eyes, or broken bones that had caused massive internal bleeding, one was out of place.

Tagged with the number 1047, a body of mid twenties Asian American lay under a bleach white blanket, but the body had no wounds. In fact, there were no external damages to any portion of the body other than a paper cut on the left index finger. However there was one difference from this body to the others, the eyes of the young male were glassed over and his mouth was open, depict ting facial expressions of a silent screamer who had the life sucked out of him with no one to witness the tragedy or to know who did such an unspeakable deed to a living person.


	14. Chapter 14: Mothers

Happy Thanksgiving! Here is a little Thanksgiving cheer from me to you!

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Mothers

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That is his.

~ Oscar Wilde

~*~

Diana didn't know what time it was or how long she had been asleep, but she awoke feeling a draft in the room. With sleep still drifting in her eyes, the Amazon Princess slowly sat up, touched the light switch that was mounted on the nightstand to her left, and pulled the covers tighter around her. A few blinks and she could see the cause for the draft. Standing at the foot of her bed stood Hermes, in his hand was a parchment sealed with the Queen of the Amazon's own personal seal.

"Don't worry, you're not the first girl who didn't wait up for me." The messenger smiled and protruded his right hand towards the bundled princess. "Would you like me to read it for you?"

"That won't be necessary, you can set it on my desk," was the response he received. "If you have nothing else, you may go."

"Why?" the messenger asked as he crossed the floor to the desk, gently laying the parchment down. "I thought we could chat for a bit and get caught up on what is going on in our lives, just like we did in the old days."

Diana shot a confused look towards the messenger, "we never really talked in the good old days, and besides when we did talk you only talked about yourself and which goddess you were trying to go after."

Hermes pivoted on his left foot and looked the princess in the eyes. "Yeah, about that, thanks for telling Aphrodite that I was coming up with bogus letters to send her."

"Well, if you would just confess you like her and perhaps talk to her, you wouldn't have to do that," a smile escaped Diana's lips as she brought her knees up towards her chin in hopes that it would cover her baby bump that she knew Hermes hadn't seen yet, but wanted to keep it that way.

"Gee, thanks for your insight on love, but when did an Amazon ever know anything about how the love between a god and a goddess works? It's not like you have any insight to relationships." Hermes was getting no where with this conversation and he didn't want to get lectured about women, especially from a know it all Amazon Princess who didn't have a real clue about men.

Hermes looked at Diana who was smiling at him and he felt very uncomfortable. "If you need nothing else, I am gone." With that, the courier was gone in a whoosh of wind.

Shaking her head, Diana got out of bed and made her way towards the desk. After she had written her mother, she had gone straight to bed, she hadn't even removed her robe, but luckily her slippers had come off as she pulled herself into bed. She soon realized that her slippers were gone, but she simply plucked the letter from the desk and returned to her bed, crawling under the covers, turning on the reading lamp, and delicately breaking the seal. Butterflies soon took over her stomach and she had to put the letter down and try a few Lamaze breathing techniques before she started to read the letter.

As she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, the door opened and in walked Batman who was still dressed in his shredded outfit that now had caked on blood everywhere. Once the doors had closed, he removed his cowl and threw it in the direction of a suitcase that was to the left of the entryway and was opened to reveal normal civilian clothes along with a few extra Batman costumes. Diana's eyes snapped open once she recognized his faint grunts and smiled when he turned towards her, but his face was not reflecting her own. Instead, he had a worried look on his face as he continued to pull parts of his outfit off and made his way to the bathroom.

Diana's smile faded as she followed her husband across the room with her eyes. "What else happened?" Diana asked, as the billionaire made his way into the bathroom.

A few minutes of silences came before she heard him yell out. "Other than the fact we don't know what the hell we are up against, where to even start looking for this foe, or the fact at least 12,000 people, outside of Captain Atom were killed and we don't know what to do about it?"

As he mentioned those worries, Diana squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of what had happened and the fact she was helpless to do anything about it. "Yeah, besides that," she mumbled under her breath, but heard the shower come on and knew he wouldn't hear her over the water. Letting out a troubled sigh, Diana reached behind her to grab the photo album she kept up in the Watchtower. As Bruce continued to take his shower, Diana slowly went through the pictures that included everything from their wedding day to the night Rex was born and even a few shots of when Lois and Clark had moved into their new home. As she looked through the pictures, she began to think about what the future would hold for all of them and for their families. She was lost in looking at the photos that she never noticed the shower turn off and her husband was standing in the doorway in his matching royal blue pajama button up top and pant bottoms.

"Well, Jonn was right, Black Canary became very worked up and her water broke about two hours ago," the former playboy answered as he walked towards the bed and crawled under the sheets.

"What?!" Diana snapped her head towards her husband who was now sitting next to her, looking her in the eyes. She could still see that he needed some much-needed sleep and the way his eyelids were drooping, he would be crashing very shortly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Actually, I came in here shortly after it happened, but you were dead asleep and I didn't want to wake you and make you worry about everything. Not in your condition."

"True," Diana looked down at her stomach and placed a caring hand on the top of her bump and smiled as she felt a small kick from within. "Canary was only a few weeks away from her due date, while I'm a few months away."

Bruce Wayne's eyes glistened as he looked at his wife and slowly made his way towards her and placed his right hand over her hand, allowing his fingers to be intertwined with hers. He also felt the baby kick and a dreamy smile came over his lips as he looked to his wife.

"Besides," the dark knight responded, "what could you do? Wait outside in the waiting room going stir crazy as the minutes ticked away? I figured that you needed your sleep more than you needed to worry yourself about when Dinah's baby would be born."

Diana smiled as she gently squeezed his hand and they kissed tenderly upon the lips. "I love you so much Mr. Wayne."

"I know you do, but who were you talking to a few moments ago before I came in? Something I should know about Princess?" Mr. Wayne asked his wife with a somewhat bewildered look on his face.

"You mean Hermes, god of travel and god of playboys everywhere?" Diana answered. She let out a frustrating sigh and grabbed the parchment he had delivered while Bruce took the photo album and put the book back on the ledge. "Remember I said I would get in contact with the Amazons? Well, as soon as I got a clean bill of health from Jonn, I came back here, wrote mother a letter, and Hermes came and took it to mother." She brought her right hand up and in her hand was the parchment. "This is mother's response and he brought it to me before you came in. What did you hear?"

Bruce gave her a devilish grin, "all I heard was something about talking to people about your feelings to them and what would an Amazon know about that. When I first heard his voice, I wasn't sure who it was, but when I did a sweep of the room with the monitoring systems and it came up with a magical entity, I figured it had to be one of your gods and I wasn't worried about them attacking you. I know you can handle yourself."

'Yeah, whatever,' Diana thought as she opened the parchment.

"Princess," Bruce Wayne chimed in, "are you sure males should read this?"

"Don't worry, mother hasn't figured a way to keep male eyes from reading Amazon materials, yet anyway." The princess shot a sly smirk and eye glance towards her husband before she returned to the parchment.

Dear Sun & Stars:

I know you have been banished from your home, but I do miss you and your company. I am granting your visit, please come two days from when you receive this response. From the sounds of things, this is very serious so I am arranging for a private meeting with you in the palace where the two of us can talk. You will arrive here at dusk, so hide your aircraft on the east side of the island. From there, you can walk the half-mile to the back doors of the palace and I will be down there waiting for you. I also permit one female member of your Justice League to escort you as a lady in waiting.

I miss you dearly my daughter and my heart aches to see you again. Until we see each other, may Hera protect you.

With My Love,

MOTHER

A warm tear trickled down Diana's face and she smiled at what she read. She wanted to see her mother so much, but now she had the permission to do so and her heart was aching for the day to come sooner than later. She looked at her husband, a large smile plastered across her face. When he saw the tear, he gently wiped it away with his left thumb and kissed her on the forehead.

"Princess, I am so happy for you." Her husband looked her in the eyes, took the parchment and sat it atop the photo album. "Now, we both need some sleep and we can talk about this more in the morning." With those words, he turned off her reading light and crawled deeper under the covers. Diana still had her smile on her face and she sighed continently and placed her head upon his chest while he put his arms around her and closed his eyes. Her eyelids did little protesting as she closed them, falling asleep to the sound of his heart beating.

~*~

Two days later, Diana, Shayera, and Lois stood around the hospital bed of Dinah Queen who was holding her day old daughter in her arms. The baby girl was wrapped in pink blankets with a little ribbon attached to one of her many golden curls. The baby slept contently as the three women watched her. Dinah couldn't take her eyes of her little one.

"She is just perfect," Shayera blurted out in a whisper. "And those golden curls, she looks like a porcelain doll."

"A porcelain doll with a set of lungs on her, that's for sure." Lois snickered as she thought back to the previous night when the little girl had been up for a while crying but luckily since her lungs were still forming, it wasn't super sonic yet, but it was enough to rattle anyone's eardrums.

Dinah Queen, known as Black Canary to the Justice League, sighed heavily. "It's not the lungs I'm worried about, it's the baby's first bow and arrows her dad gave her this morning that worries me." Dinah looked across the room to the big pink bag that had a bow and several arrows sticking out of it. The other women followed her gaze.

"Wow, but then again, that doesn't surprise me." Shayera added as she turned back to the little cherub.

"Adabella Laurel Queen, you are going to be the only talented soprano and archer in the world. I bet even Artemis herself will be jealous of your abilities." Diana told the infant as she smiled down on her.

Diana was dressed in maternity long black skirt with a long sleeved red blouse and matching pumps. To her left, Shayera was dressed in a knee length teal summer dress with matching high heels and a diamond necklace and earrings set that Jonn had given her before Rex was born. The two women were on there way to Themascarya to have an audience with Hipolypta, but wanted to stop in to see Dinah and Adabella before they left and to say goodbye to Lois and Sammy. Lois and Sammy would be returning home within the hour since both were given a clean bill of health and Lois was ready to go home, space life was not her cup of tea.

Lois walked towards her bed and zipped up her suitcase. She started to lift the suitcase off the bed but Shayera came up behind her and did the heavy lifting for her.

"Trust me, you don't want those stitches coming out." Shayeara gave Lois an all knowing wink, pulled the handle bar up from the suitcase and rolled it out of the room, almost knocking into Superman who was now dressed in his Clark Kent clothes, including his glasses and carrying a baby carrier where Sammy was in. "Sorry Clark, but she was going to do it on her own and I didn't want her to."

"Well, thank you," the Kansas boy said as he watched Shayera make her way to the transporter bays and then looked back at Lois. "You know, we need to get going."

"ALLELUIA! I'm ready to go, get me back to some solid ground." Lois walked towards Diana and Dinah, giving Diana a hug and whispering in her ear, "thank you for everything."

Diana returned the hug and whispered back, "don't mention it, sister."

Lois pulled out of her hug with Diana and hugged Dinah and then gave a soft kiss to Adabella. "You'll have to come see Sammy and me sometime, we will need to get play dates started."

"That would be great. Take care Lois." Dinah answered as she shifted her baby girl from one arm to the other.

Diana and Lois started to exit the room when Oliver Queen almost bumped into them with a pack of "It's a Girl" M&M's and Here-She-Is Hershey Bars with Adabella's name, birth date, weight, and the names of the proud parents printed on the labels and on the candy.

"Not everyday a guy gets to celebrate the birth of his little girl. Here you guys go." Oliver handed all of them as much candy as they could hold. He then looked at Clark, "congratulations on your son, but you will have to keep trying for a girl. Man, there isn't a better feeling in the world knowing you have a daughter to spoil."

"Oh, we won't be trying anytime soon. Trust me on that Boy Scout." Lois snickered as she continued walking out the door and gave Clark the glare of death as she passed him, but then winked at him and took his free arm and walked hand in hand to the transporter room. Diana shook her head, glanced at the happy Queen Family as she left the medical facilities and followed the Kents to the transporter room.

Once at the transporter room, Lois said good bye to other league members and then, in a flash the Kent family was gone and back on earth in their home. Diana looked at Shayera and pointed towards the Javelin Bays.

"Ready to go," Diana asked her colleague.

Shayera nodded and the two of them headed for the Javelin Bay.

~*~

Lois Lane-Kent flopped onto the large King sized bed, sighing heavily as she made contact with the pillow-top mattress. She had only been home for less than an hour, but she could already feel herself realizing and enjoying the fact she was on solid ground. It was also great to be back in a normal environment. As she lay on the bed, Clark walked into the master bedroom with Sammy in his arms. He smiled at his wife, but she sighed as if she was in distressed and shot back up.

"What do you say we take Sammy for a quick walk around outside and show him to the girls?" Lois asked as she stood up, walked over to her husband, gave him and her son a kiss and then took him by the hand and lead him out the bedroom, down the hall, and out through the main door onto the wrap around porch. A soft breeze swept past the Kents as Clark inhaled deeply and took his wife's hand into his own left hand.

"Well, lets go see the girls and show off our foal." Clark told his wife with pride etched in his words as he talked. He kept his eyes fixed on Lois and then looked down at Sammy who was in a light green one piece but was wrapped snuggly in his blue fleece blanket. He slept quite contently as his father, clad in a short sleeved, button up western denim shirt with dark denim jeans and a new pair of work boots. Lois lead the way as she pulled her husband along with the excitement to show off her new baby to the girls, the broodmares who she had spent the later part of the summer with watching them nurture their babies and feel excitement for her upcoming bundle of joy. Now, clad in jeans and a gray long-sleeved shirt, her favorite white tennis shoes adorned her feet without the comfort of socks between her feet and shoes. It was the first time she had been able to use the shoes since her third semester of pregnancy began.

The family made their way towards the group of mares who had been huddling around the gates since they heard noises from within the house. All the mares and foals crowded each other as they tried to get a peak at what the people were bringing them. Once the family got to the fence, the mares got first dibs to see what they were bringing.

Galatea, the pure white mare, was the first to push forward from the group and sniff the bundle of blue fleece. After realizing it wasn't food and that the item was not going to bring her harm, the mare swung her head away from the family and stepped aside to allow Odessa to take a sniff at the bundle. Just as Galatea had done, the mare figured out that this visit brought not treats and no threat of danger so she also swung her head away and gave Andromeda a chance.

Andromeda, who had become very close to Lois, wasted no time for her turn and quickly greeted Lois by thrusting her head towards Lois' chest and feeling the woman's warm hands stroke her chin and lay her foreheads against the mare's long face. Lois had missed the mare the most out of the entire group. The two had a bond that was not easily broken.

"Hi Andy," Lois referred to the mare by her nick name as she pulled out of her hug with the mare and gently lead her towards Clark and Sammy. "Now, I need to show you my foal."

With patience and gentleness, the mare sniffed the child and nudged the chubby little fingers that were folded against each other across his chest. Sammy squirmed a little, but continued to sleep peacefully in the safety of his father's arms. Seeing that the cherub would not awaken or pet her, the mare returned her attention back to Lois who once again hugged the mare and stroked her chin.

"I've missed you so much." Lois whispered to the mare. "Now that I'm no longer pregnant, Diana can teach me to ride."

Clark quickly glanced back up towards the house, an up to no good smile escaping from his lips. "You know, we should go to the barn and make sure everything was put back. I trust Tim, but sometimes teenage boys have other things they would rather do than put everything away where they found it."

"Good point," Lois agreed and pushed Andy away so she could get the gate open wide enough to allow her and Clark to enter. After Clark had entered, he latched the gate and when he turned around, four little foals had gathered around him to get a sniff at the bundle. At seeing this, Lois giggled and turned her attention towards the barn, but she just about tripped over the deep ruts that had been made when the people had come to take Gaea's body away. At the sight of the ruts, Lois stopped in her tracks and pulled her hands toward her heart, thinking back to the beautiful mare who had been so full of life the last time she had seen her.

"Lois, are you okay?" Clark asked as he laid his left hand upon her shoulder. Feeling his touch, Lois turned around and buried her body next to his and looked down at her son.

"Damn these hormones, but I had forgotten all about Gaea not being here anymore. I know these things happen, but why did it have to happen to her?" Lois asked.

"I know, but they figured something probably spooked her and she tripped over her own legs. The vet said judging from the break in her neck, she went fast." Clark soothed his wife. They stood there a few more minutes until Lois had regained her composure and started back towards the barn with Clark following her and glancing back towards the house over his shoulders.

Once in the barn, Lois looked to make sure the buckets, brushes, and hoses were in place. Luckily, Tim was a responsible kid and always put everything away, but Lois figured it was just a ploy for him to take Sammy up to the loft. As she rolled up the bag of honey oat treats that the horses got once a day, she looked up towards the loft and noticed Clark was walking gently up the stairs, towards the loft. She smiled at the two men in her life and knew this was a father/son moment. Turning back towards the feed, she grabbed the clipboard that was hanging on a nail and began to flip through the notes Tim had taken and even noticed Alfred had come out once. Paying attention to the notes, Lois sat on one of the hay bales.

In the loft, Clark took Sammy to the loft doors that were wide open, allowing anyone to look out and see the beauty of the countryside. A menacing smile slipped onto Clark's face and a flash of tyranny erupted from his eyes. Revenge was in the air and Lois Lane had no clue what was about to happen.

~*~

Shayera had landed the Javelin twenty minutes ago and now the two women were approaching the back of the Amazon Palace. On the trip to Earth, Shayera had noted that Diana hadn't uttered a single word and fidgeted with her hands, hair, and even her skirt. From the look on her face, it was obvious that she was nervous about meeting with her mother, especially given the fact that she was not only married to a mortal man, but she now carried his child within her womb.

The soft clicking of there heels on the stoned walkway that connected the palace to the area where the horses usually grazed and the temporary parking spot for the Javelin was the only sound that could be heard. The moonlight and stars were the only light they had used to get from the Javelin to the Palace, but Diana knew this path like the back of her hand and had no trouble finding the path and making her way towards her former home. Now, the two heroes were in sight of the palace and once they came within one hundred feet of the back door, both women hid within the lush vegetation.

"So, how are you holding up?" Shayera asked as she looked from the palace back towards the princess.

Diana was pale and her eyes were glued to the back doorway to the palace that was guarded by a red headed Amazon. She couldn't believe this was happening and that she was about to come face to face with her mother. Biting her lower lip, Diana looked towards Shayera.

"I don't think I've ever been so nervous in my life." Diana whispered back to her companion who was leaning behind a tree to the left of where Diana was hiding. "I have a plan, I want you to go out first to make sure mother is alone and to introduce me."

Before Shayera could respond, the door to the palace opened and in the doorway stood Queen Hippolyta. As she made her way onto the outside patio, the guard genuflected before her beloved queen. Upon seeing the gesture of respect, the Amazon queen approached the warrior and instructed her to rise up. The gurad did as she was told and looked her queen in the eye.

"Sister, please leave me. I request some privacy." The queen stated and the guard bowed and left her queen, asking no questions.

After a minute of making sure the guard had left and no one else was within earshot, the queen started down the path looking through the vegetation. "Diana, are you here?"

At once the Amazon Princess shot a look towards her friend who nodded and made her way towards the path. Once she was on the path, the lights from the palace illuminated her and she proceeded towards the queen. Hippolyta had seen the movement and turned her full attention towards the figure coming out of the vegetation, but she sensed immediately that it was not her daughter, though she knew it was a friend.

Shayera was five feet from the queen when she stopped and curtsied. The queen bowed at her.

"Your highness, it is good to see you again." Mrs. John Stewart said, "I have escorted your daughter here, but I want to let you know your daughter has changed since the last time you saw her." When she heard this, Hippolyta cocked her head at the young woman before her unsure what she was being told. Shayera began to fumble over her words and felt the stern eyes of the queen weighing heavily on her "I. I. I. I would like to properly introduce your daughter, Mrs. Diana Wayne."

As soon as she had finished her sentence, Shayera sidestepped and looked back at the path. Where she looked, no movement could be seen and Shayera got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She quickly licked her lips and repeated the last part of the sentence only in a slightly louder voice, "Mrs. Diana Wayne."

Diana gathered all of her courage and mumbled, "Hera, help me," as she stood as straight as she could and sidestepped onto the pathway, her hands folded under her stomach. As she made her way out of the shadow, her pregnant form became very evident and Hippolyta's eyes began to bug out at the sight and her right hand quickly retreated to her now open mouth.

"Good evening, mother." Diana stated as she came to a full stop next to Shayera and in front of her mother who stared at her daughter's protruding stomach.

"By the gods and goddesses," was all the queen could say as she stared in disbelief at her daughter. She had seen this condition in woman of other countries, but never an Amazon and especially an Amazon Princess.

Diana saw the look in her mother's eyes, but she stepped forward towards her anyway and took her right hand that was next to her quivering lips and placed it upon her stomach. The baby had started to kick once she had stopped moving and she was going to try a new strategy on making her mother understand that this condition was not a punishment, but a gift.

"Do you feel that, mother?" Diana's blue eyes looked into her mother's face, she didn't break contact with her mother's own eyes. "That is your grandchild, my child, my own sun and stars. I prayed to Hera to grant me a child and she answered my prayers."

The queen's face was stone cold as she stared at her daughter, but then she felt the fluttering within her daughter's womb. She could feel the strength of this unborn child, a child that would call her grandmother. As she felt the movement, her stone face dissolved into bemusement at what she had just witnessed with her hand and eyes. Without hesitating, the queen hugged her daughter, a single tear running down her face and she looked towards Shayera who stood quietly, smiling at the scene she had witnessed.

Pulling out of the hug, the queen looked from Shayera to Diana. "I have arranged for a private meeting in my sitting room and I have distracted the hand maidens and warriors to another portion of the Palace, but they will not stay there long. Now, come quickly." She ushered her daughter and guest into the door and quickly shut the entrance.

~*~

Lois stood on the backside of the barn feeding the mares and foals in the extra bunks that Clark had set up just minutes later. Something was up and she didn't like the way Clark kept her from looking out the front of the barn and telling her that feeding the horses out in back would help the large grooves in the front heal over. Something was up and in the pit of her stomach; Lois had a bad feeling about this.

As she finished empting the last of the oats from the gallon ice cream pail she reused, Lois turned back towards the barn and made her way towards the feed station. Leisurely, she placed the pail in the 50 lbs bag of oats and turned towards her husband who was blocking her way towards the main entrance/exit of the barn.

"How about we take the long way back via the backyard?" Clark asked as he watched his wife put her hands on her hips. "We haven't taken a walk in a long time."

"Smallville, what are you up to? You're acting rather strange and I don't like it." Lois stated to her husband.

Smiling, the farm boy offered his arm towards his wife and she took it, but there was hesitation not only in her accepting the arm but also in her eyes. As she made contact with her husband's arm, she felt the tension in his muscles.

With his wife holding onto his arm, Clark made his way out of the barn with his wife on his left and his son, who was starting to wake up, in his right arm. The sun was starting to make its way to the 4 pm possession, but a shiver went up Lois' spine and her whole body shake. Usually, when she would do this, Clark would offer a jacket or pull her closer to his body, but this time he didn't even flinch. Lois kept her eyes on her husband and didn't notice that they had stopped in front of the other pasture, the pasture where Goliath stood at the gate. Upon seeing them, the stallion started to make his way towards the visitors, but warnings began to flash in Lois' head and she stopped dead in her track, causing Clark to take note.

"Lois, I don't know what your problem with Goliath is, but I have always found him to be such a calm stallion." The Boy Scout informed his wife and tried to puller her along towards the stallion, but the famed reporter was digging her heels into the dirt and causing a miniature ditch to form under her feet as Clark made his way towards the gate.

"I just don't feel comfortable around him and I truly don't feel comfortable with Sammy around him. Clark, lets just go in." Her violet eyes never looked away from the stallion that was standing not 10 feet from them, his ears swiveling, trying to understand what was going on.

"Lois, you're being childish about this," Clark shot back towards his wife.

"DAMN IT CLARK I SAID NO." Lois raised her voice and Clark instantly stopped in his tracks and Sammy jerked with surprise but didn't cry or fuss.

"Okay Lois, have it your way." With that he turned towards the backdoor to the house and Lois looked back at the giant stallion who stood in bewilderment at what he had just witnessed. A growing feeling of concern and uncertainty engulfed Lois as she pulled away from her husband and watched him make his way towards the house. Upon reaching the door that lead into the kitchen, Lois immediately removed her shoes and walked towards the cupboard that held the glasses, she need to take a cool drink and decide what was up with Clark. As she closed the cupboard door, she jumped and the plastic glass she had grabbed fell from her hand and bounced on the linoleum floor. Behind the open door, Clark had been standing, waiting in silence for his wife.

His eyes were filled with rage, "you think you are so wonderful, don't you Lois. You think that since you are married to the man of steel you can be immune to anything and everything."

As Clark spoke, Lois noted that Sammy was no longer in his father's arms but in his carrier that was perched on the kitchen table. The baby was paying more attention to his hands than to his parents. Lois also started to back up and fear had taken over her entire body. Her husband was not acting right and she had no way to calm him down or worse, protect herself from him. With each step she took, she knew she was getting closer to the hinged door that separated the kitchen from the living/dining room, but with each step her husband also got closer to her, more aggressive, and more in her face.

"I'm going to enjoy every minute of this Miss Lane, you've had this coming." The sound of revenge came off Clark's lips and intertwined with those words. In his eyes, the gateway to his soul, Lois could see the hunger for revenge upon her and that he wouldn't stop until he had finished with her.

Her heart pounding, her palms sweating, and her body trembling, Lois finally felt her fingertips come in contact with the swinging door. She quickly turned around and flung herself into the door and instantly stepped into the living/dining room. As her feet came in contact with the soft carpet, a muffled 'no' escaped her lips as she saw the horror that awaited her and her son.

~*~

"Mother, I have never felt so helpless" Diana told her mother who sat next to her on the loveseat. In her right hand, the princess held a cup of tea and in her left hand was the saucer that went with it. The Queen's sitting room was done in various sea blues and greens decorating the pulled curtains, the loveseat, and the oversized sitting chair where Shayera sat holding her tea and saucer just as Diana.

Hippolyta had spent the last forty-five minutes listening to Diana talk about the events that had occurred after her wedding. Diana left no stone unturned as she talked about the birth of Rex Stewart, Hara's visit, and the chaos that had occurred. She had finished telling her mom about the attack on Metropolis and that she couldn't do anything.

"The Justice League has a feeling that these monsters will come back and it may not be just an isolated incident like the one in Metropolis." Shayera spoke up as Diana took a sip of her tea and Hippolyta looked towards the speaker. "If that were to occur, we don't have the man or woman power to help out on a larger scale so we are looking for allies."

"What you ask is a heavy burden for the Amazons, you know that Diana." The queen looked towards her daughter and sat her tea set on the table before her. "Amazons don't just go off the island to assist man's world. Unless we are threatened, we will not leave this island."

Diana sighed heavily and her mother turned back to her. "I'm sorry Diana, but I must uphold the law and watch over our sisters. If we are not in harms way, I see no reason to get engaged in this battle." Sensing her daughter's disappointment, Hippolyta took Diana's hands in her own causing the Amazon Princess to look towards her mother. "However, if we can be of any other assistance, we will be here, but unless our homeland comes under attack, we will not take part in this battle. This is not our battle to fight."

"I understand," Diana answered. "Do we have your permission to have members of the Justice League, both male and female, land on the island in cases of emergency?"

"Women are always allowed here," the queen's voice became hesitant. "Men, well, that would have to be an emergency situation. I'm sorry Diana."

"Your highness," the woman in the chair spoke up, "the fact you have granted us this time to speak with you means you are on our side and will help us anyway you can. We don't want to cause trouble with your laws and rules, but you must understand if we require your assistance, we will once again ask for it."

Diana was becoming frustrated. She pulled out of her mom's hands, stood up, and walked towards the opposite side of the room where a desk stood with parchment and a plaster mold of two small palm prints. Diana instantly recognized it as a mold she had made when she was a young girl who spent hours with her mother, learning about royalty, and daydreaming about becoming a great warrior just like her mother. Tracing her fingers on the mold, Diana turned back towards her mother who was watching her from the love seat.

"What if your grandchild becomes endangered? Wouldn't this child be considered an Amazon, regardless if it is a male or female?" Diana stated as she placed a caring hand on her stomach in a protecting manner.

The Queen of the Amazon's rose to her full height and made her way towards her daughter. "I love you more than you could know and I love my grandchild just as much no matter if it is a male or female. If you and/or the child would become endangered, I would step in at any cost to protect both of you. That is what mothers do."

"I may not be a mother yet," Diana answered "but, if I had to give my life for my child to live, I wouldn't blink an eye. I would hand over my life before I saw my child in danger or brought to harm. Bruce would do the same thing, he would put his life before mine, our children, or Alfred's life for that matter."

"It amazes me how much you two sound alike." Shayera put her plate and tea cup down and rested her hands in her lap. "Diana, I think your turning into a queen."

"No, she's turning into a mother." The queen replied to the comment. "Diana, I am so proud of you and I am proud of the woman you have become. You are kind, caring, strong, and wise. All of these traits will make you into a great mother for this child."

"Well," Diana blushed at what she had heard, "I've learned from the best."


	15. Chapter 15: A Hero, A Tragedy

Chapter Fifteen: A Hero, A Tragedy

"Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy." ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

~*~

"SURPRISE," shouted Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan, Martha Kent, and Jonathan Kent as Lois Lane-Kent stepped into the dining/living room. A huge "Welcome Home Sammy" banner was posted behind everyone with white and blue streamers, balloons, and various baby boy decorations scattered around the room.

Lois' face reflected her surprise as she walked into the room and was greeted with hugs from all four guests. As Lois welcomed her guess, Clark folded up the accordion divider that was built into the bar/counter. After he had made room, he brought Sammy over from the kitchen table and sat his carrier on the counter and faced him towards his guests who once they saw him made their way towards him. Smiling with pride, Clark walked into the other room and draped his arms around his wife from behind.

"Surprised?" the Boy Scout asked his wife as she watched Martha Kent pick up her grandson for the first time.

Lois quickly pivoted on her toes towards her husband and gave him a swift kick in the shins. The man of steel only smiled at his wife who had more or less stubbed her toes from the action.

"I told you and everyone else that I did not want a baby shower! Look at me, I'm not fit for guests." His wife argued as she became very animated. Lois may have thought she was in no condition for guests, but to Clark, she had never been so beautiful than at that moment.

"And I told you that I didn't want a surprise party for my last birthday, but did you listen to me? NO! Instead you go behind my back and plan an all out, up all night birthday party to end all birthday parties. Call this getting even." As he said the last sentence, he got right in her face.

Smiling, Lois leaned forward and kissed her husband playfully on his lips. "You enjoyed it and you know it."

"No, I did not!" Clark stated back, but knew he wasn't going to win this fight. Now would be a good time to change the subject off of him. "Besides, I figured that you would only want to have a few close friends and family here. Your sister was still shaken up on the events that happed within the past week so she didn't want to come, your parents are enjoying their third or fourth honeymoon on that fall cruise, and the rest of the gang at the Dailey Planet are busy covering Metropolis' recovery from the attack."

"Luckily," Chloe chimed in, "some of us have been working non stop for the past couple of days so we got a break. Oh, cuz he is so cute." Chloe was holding Sammy in her arms for the first time, smiling at him.

"You both should be proud," Martha Kent committed as she walked towards her son and daughter-in-law with Jonathan at her side.

"Son," Jonathan said, "you've done good. You've done real good, you too Lois. You have a wonderful son, a great place, and you have friends and family who love and care for you very much. No one could ask for anything more."

Lois felt a tear start to burn in her eye, but quickly brushed it away as she walked towards her in laws and gave them a hug. She stood there for a few moments, then finally broke away from their grasps and sighed heavily.

"So, this is a party huh? There better be chocolate cake and that punch I like." Lois made a beeline towards the dining table that held the food and beverages were she quickly grabbed a napkin and began to wipe her eyes.

~*~

Time had flown by as Shayera, Diana, and Hippolyta had talked. Diana had realized her mother wasn't going to assist the Justice League the way she thought she would, but at least she would be of assistance even if only to the female leaguers. The topic of conversation had changed from official league business, which Diana knew would be brought back up later, to her personal life as a surrogate mother and a wife.

As they had talked, Diana's stomach had rumbled so her mother excused herself from the room and request food be sent to her chamber at once. When she had given this request, her hand maiden look at her bewildered, but the queen stated that she was in need of a late night snack, but did not know what she was hungry for. With a nod, the maiden took off towards the kitchen and returned with a platter of fruits, vegetables, and breads. Thanking the servant, the queen returned to her sitting room where she placed the food before her guests and poured some water for them.

As Hippolyta sat next to her daughter, she watched with great attention to her beloved sun and stars. She was enjoying this time with her and she wanted the moment to last for as long as it could. Her daughter meant everything to her and now that she would be a grandmother, Hippolyta was finding that she never knew how much love her heart could hold.

~*~

Goliath stood at the gate that acted as a passageway into his paddock. The gate was nothing fancy, just a basic livestock gate that was made from steel and had been painted blue to stand out from the white fence that surrounded it. The stallion starred towards the guests who were driving away from the house, but his attention was really fixed on a lone figure dressed in red and blue that had walked out the backdoor and was making his way towards the barn. Clark Kent, dressed as Superman, let out a heavy sigh. With little effort, he was airborne and a loud sonic boom could be heard high above.

~*~

"Mother, what should we tell the others?" Diana asked as she picked up a picture frame containing the same snapshot that occupied the table in the bedroom she shared with Bruce, the picture of her and her mother at the wedding. Diana's back was to her mother. As they had been talking, Diana caught sight of the picture that was stationed on a small round table that would regularly be used to hold plants and found herself drawn to the simple picture that meant so much to her. Diana smiled back down at the picture and turned back to her mother, but once she saw her mother's face, her warm smile melted off her face and was replaced with a look of remorse.

"As a mother, I am proud that my daughter is pregnant, but as an Amazon," the queen's voice trailed off as she broke eye contact with her daughter and looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap. "You have the respect of all of your sisters, but I have heard that a few do not approve of your marriage nor did they approve of me going off the island to take part in your marriage ceremony."

Diana nodded and lowered her head down farther, returning the picture to the stand. "Then, after I have the child, can I have your blessings to come back to the island? To bring my child back to the place where I was raised and to have a relationship with you, the maternal grandmother."

"In my heart, I would want nothing more, but as an Amazon," the queen hesitated before she spoke again. "If you have a girl, I see no reason why the child shouldn't be allowed to come here to visit or possibly train in the future. The problem will arise if you have a son and if this would occur, I would have to obtain permission from your sisters and possibly from the gods and goddesses themselves if he were to come."

Diana felt her heart sink low into her bowels, she had been told the news she had been dreading. Sensing the discomfort from her daughter, Hippolyta rose with elegance only befitting to a queen and made her way toward her daughter. As soon as she was close enough, the queen hugged her only child and tears began to roll down both checks.

"Let's not get a head of ourselves," the queen of the Amazons stated. "Lets think this through, strategize, and come up with a plan so we never have to be apart again."

Shayera smiled at the two, quietly stood up, and made her way towards the queen's office to give them privacy. As Shayera entered the office, she noticed that it was the same size as the sitting room only a large desk was stationed in the middle, similar to the desk in the Oval Office. On the walls, paintings of epic battles, famed female warriors, and goddesses were spaced evenly, but one picture stood out from the others.

Shayera made her way around the desk and towards a simple parchment that had been basically tacked up behind the desk. On the parchment were two small hands that had been dipped in some sort of ink and placed on the paper. Below the little hands it said DIANA: My Sun & My Stars.

~*~

Goliath stood at the gate, his tail swishing back in forth impatiently. The lights within the house had been dimmed for over 20 minutes and the entire countryside was quiet except for a few chirps from some crickets spread out in the lawn and pastures. Without warning, Goliath sidestepped to his left and from his right side emerged Darkseid. From the moment Darkseid had split from his disguise, the dark stallion's body started to go into compulsions and immediately, he was falling towards the ground, his body mutilated just as it had been when the mare had crashed into him, causing his back leg to break, his head to cave in, and his neck to break in several places. The stallion was dead before he hit the ground, but the extra thick grass muffled his collision with the ground, but Darkseid paid no attention to this, instead the dictator walked through the gate as if it were merely plastic, but held onto the gate to make sure the thud of the gate falling to the ground would not echo the peaceful night. Above him, the stars shown brightly, but the moon was nowhere to be seen and his dark figure camouflaged beautifully into the shadows of the night as he made his way towards the house.

~*~

"Smallville, its your turn." Lois grumbled in her sleep as she pulled her extra pillow from beneath her head and swung it to her right. She was almost back to sleep when she heard the pillow make contact with the other pillow. Sitting up quickly, Lois remembered that Clark was back at the WatchTower and her son was still crying.

"Why is it that Superman isn't always around when I need him?" Lois mumbled as she got out of bed and put on her slippers and grabbed her robe. She yawned lazily as she made her way down the hall towards the nursery.

The party had been a short one with Chloe getting paged back to the Planet, Lana getting a phone call about being a last minute replacement for a fashion show, and Clark needing to get back to the tower. The Kents were spending the night in the spare bedroom upstairs and were going to spend a few days with Lois and Clark to help them settle into a new routine. Lois thanked her lucky stars for such wonderful in-laws.

Lois looked down the hall towards the living room where the party had ended almost two hours ago. As she had told Martha not to worry about anything, she took Sammy into the nursery to feed him, but once she was done and came back into the living room, she found that Martha had cleaned everything up. Once again, Lois thanked her mother-in-law for all of her help.

As Lois reflected on the party, she stopped dead in her tracks. Sammy was no longer crying and the squeak from the oversized rocker in the nursery could be heard. Lois hadn't heard Martha or Jonathan come down the stairs, but maybe they had been up previous to Sammy's commotion and came to his aid. This sounded like a reasonable scenario to Lois, but as she began to walk towards the nursery doorway, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and an eerie feeling hit her stomach. Something was up and she quickened her gait to get to her baby.

As she walked into the nursery, she scanned the room. The window was open and the breeze was pushing the rocking chair slowly, but the amount of movement coming from the rocking chair was not caused by the wind. The motion Lois saw was from someone getting out of the chair quickly. As she stepped towards the rocking chair, her nostrils caught the sent of decay.

"You really should come more quickly when your child calls for you." A deep voice boomed from behind her and she quickly pivoted to the source of the noise. Standing to her left and draped in the shadows of the room stood Darkseid who held Sammy in his arms.

Lois gasped in horror at the sight. She knew who this mad man, if you could call him that, was and she knew he hated Clark with a passion. The fact he held her child within his arms made her stomach turn in knots. Without thinking clearly, Lois shot an angry look towards the creature, "let go of my son." With that, she rushed towards the dictator, but instantly, the creature grabbed her by the throat when she was close enough and threw her like a rag doll against the crib that collapsed under the force.

Upon making contact with the crib, Lois screamed as she felt pain come jolting from her left leg and that scream along with the sound of the crash woke Ma and Pa Kent. At the sound, both jumped out of bed, put on their robes and slippers and quicly headed towards the nursery that was directly below them.

Laying upon the damaged crib, Lois arched her back and moaned as she felt the pain from her leg and the agony from her chest each time she tried to breath. This couldn't be happening, it must be a bad dream. Still in a daze, the reporter opened her eyes and say the figure standing over her and watched helplessly as he bent down and scooped her up with the other arm. The pain from the movement of her broken leg caused her to cry out again and this caused more discomfort within her chest.

Darkseid had what he had come for and quickly muttered the words to send him back to Hades. "Return to the Hell that is Hades Realm."

As he was about to step into the portal, he caught movement from the corner of his eyes and turned his head. In the doorway stood Ma and Pa Kent who were frozen at what they were looking at. Neither one could move at the creature that carried their grandson in his arm and held their daughter-in-law like a rag doll in the other. Before their eyes, the creature cocked a smile at the two and quickly walked into the vortex and vanished.


	16. Chapter 16: ForgetMeNot

Chapter Sixteen: Forget-Me-Not

"Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,  
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels."  
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, _Evangeline_

~*~

I know, I know, I haven't updated in a while. So, I can say that it has been a busy year and that work has kept me away from writing, but I won't and ask instead that you all enjoy this chapter and remember to review! Thank you to everyone who have reviewed and added this story to their favorite's list.

NOTE: I do not own any major characters, but a few minor characters are my own. I am also not making any profit from this work of fiction. Also, this is my first fanfic ever and I am new to fanfic as a whole, so please review and let me know what you think.

~*~

Heels clicking against the eco-friendly concrete echoed within the briefing room that housed the latest technology from Wayne Industries. Superman paced back and forth behind a seated Batman who was going over footage from the attacks on Metropolis from a few days prior. The Justice League had obtained footage from several surveillance cameras from across the city along with footage taken by citizens. The footage in review at the moment showed the corpses going after civilians and sucking their souls out of them and turning the once vital bodies into fellow cadavers.

"What are we up against," Superman asked as he continued to pace. He ran his fingers through his hair and then folded his hands behind his back. For the last two and an half hours, the two teammates had been going over the footage and still they weren't answering any questions, only coming up with new ones.

Batman continued to zoom in and out of frames, making mental notes to himself about what he was seeing and then move onto the next footage. Nothing he saw was making sense and at the same time, he felt like the answer was right in front of him but he wasn't finding it. What were they up against.

As Superman continued to pace, Jonn Jones phased through the floor and stood eye to eye with his friend. A look of concern was etched into the martian's face.

"Your parents are on the line. Something has happened," before he could finish the sentence, the Kryptonian made a mad dash to the monitor next to Batman, pushed a few buttons on the keypad, and came face to face with his parents who were looking at him through the web cam on Lois' laptop. They had learned how to get in contact with the Watch Tower in case an emergency had occurred using a computer modem and web cam.

"Mom, what happened," Superman's voice cracked, thick with emotion. His mother was pale and her eyes were deep red from the crying she had been doing. Johnathan Kent leaned in closer to the monitor, he too was pale and was shaking at what he had witnessed.

"Son, their gone. We don't know who it was but, it." Johnathan Kent broke down as tears streaked down his face. He had let his son down, he had let his family down. "I'm so sorry Clark, I know I should have done something, but it happened so quickly."

"How long ago did this happen?" Batman's voice boomed in. Superman jumped, he was startled and had forgotten the caped crusader was sitting right next to him.

"Fifteen minutes at most, it took us a bit to figure out how this gadget works," the elder Mr. Kent replied.

"Then we have no time to loose. Clark and I will teleport down to the house within five minutes. Whatever you do, don't touch anything." Batman barked his orders, signed off from the conversation, grabbed Superman by his cape, and tugged him towards the door. "We need to get down their ASAP so we can figure out what is going on." With those words, Superman snapped out of his shocked state of mind and made his way towards the teleporter room with Batman walking at his side and Jonn Jones walking behind them.

~*~

All the evils of the world radiated from the walls in the cavern that housed the holding cell. Every thinkable sin, evil thought, and evil deed that had ever happened fueled the hatred that radiated like heat all over the cavern and into the vast space that was Hades' domain. Within the cavern, a limp Lois Lane-Kent laid within the confinements of the rusted bars of the jail upon the gray stones that made up the floor. Her breathing was shallow and she had passed out from the immense pain radiating from her broken ribs and left leg.

Outside the bars, Darkseid stared at the prize he had captured with the pride of a victorious hunter looking at his prey. As he stood there, he looked down at the sleeping babe in the basket made of human bones and padded with moth chewed material. Little Sammy was swaddled warmly within his green fleece blanket and he was sleeping soundly, his nose twitching every so often from the stench decay, burning flesh, and foul odors only found in the sewers.

"What are you doing?" Lex Luthor shouted as he stormed into the cavern, eyes fixed on Lois Lane. He came along side Darkseid and looked from the captive to the dictator.

"Using live bait to bring in the one being I want to see die a horrible death." Darkseid didn't even blink an eye. "I'm putting my plan into motion starting with the one thing that will bring the famed Kal-El into my position, he beloved wife and infant. Something wrong Luthor? You seemed disappointed that your disguise only got you information that I all ready knew?"

"Please, I know more than you do at this point in the project." Luthor answered, anger highlighted into his voice as he looked from the captive to the infant child and began to think back to his childhood with his controlling father, but he snapped out of it as he looked towards Darkseid who was walking towards the doorway.

"Let me show you what I have in mind for my prey." Darkseid walked into the next chamber and Luthor followed, tugging on his three piece suit. In the back of his mind, he wondered what the dictator was planning.

As Luthor walked into the neighboring chamber, he was caught off guard at what he saw. The room opposite the doorway he had entered was filled with torture devices such as iron maidens, Chinese water torture devices, and other items that Luthor himself had never seen, but made his own skin crawl at this. In the far right corner stood the one item that made the criminal minds heart stop for a second. In the corner, a guillotine stood with a kryptonite blade dangling overhead.

"Well, what do you think of my play room? When the boy in blue comes, he will become extremely weak because hidden within these walls is just enough kryptonite to make Earth's favorite adopted son delusional and then I will subdue him with kryptonite serum within those leaded cases you see around the room. Once he regains consciousness, I will start torturing Lois Lane with my toys and once I have had enough of that, I will simply kill her right in front of Superman's own eyes. Then, the real fun begins, I will put serum into the baby and begin to torture him, but much more slowly so his dad can hear every scream and whimper he makes until the last breath escapes his body." The dictator's mouth salivated as he talked about his plans and used his demented mind to picture the mother and son being slowly tortured in front of his sworn enemy. With the back of his left hand, the dictator wiped away the saliva away from his mouth and made a distinct slurping sound as he tried to get clean his the area around his mouth.

Luthor walked around the room, inspecting each torture device individually, running his fingers along the sharp knives, blades, and other sharp objects, careful not to break his flesh. Luthor thought back to the infant sleeping so peacefully in the adjoining room and his childhood, his mother he loved so much, and the few warm memories he possessed from his own childhood. This child would never have any of that and to take the child away in front of his father, brought his heart to his throat and he continued to study the room, thinking what would happen to that little cherub.

"Then, I will watch the man of steel go into a deep depression and spiral into a black hole of self hate and regret for leaving his family. I still haven't decided how I will finish him off, but I am sure that will come to me. I am leaning heavily on the blade of kryptonite to finish him off, but maybe I will come up with an even better execution idea. And, if you're a good little boy, I'll let you inflect pain onto your enemy, but I will make the fatal blow." Darkseid smiled at his playroom and walked into the chamber that housed the prisoners and then exited the cavern to go update Hades.

Luthor just stood in the middle of the room, the accessories of death radiating out from him like spokes on a wheel. As he stood their, he thought of his mother and Julian, his brother who had died as an infant and the pain he brought his family, the scars it left on his father who had turned his back on him, and the self destruction of his beloved mother. He hated Superman more than he despised his father, but to kill a mother and her child in front of the father, something was happening and he didn't know what it was, but he knew he had to do something. He had to do something so what happened to his family didn't happen to another family, even if it was Superman's family. He had to do it for his mother and for Julian.

~*~

The Dark Knight looked towards the Kents as he made his way towards the nursery. Superman was hugging his parents, but then stepped back and looked at them, gesturing for them to follow him to the nursery.

"What happened? Take us step by step on what happened." Superman asked his parents as they stopped before the threshold of the nursery where Batman was taking pictures with the camera from his utility belt.

"We heard screams and a large crash, that essentially woke us up," Johnathan Kent told his son. "We were standing right here when we saw it. I know it wasn't human."

"He must have entered and exited through the window," Batman stated as he continued taking pictures.

"No, thats the strange part." Martha Kent was close to her husband, her arms up against his chests feeling his heart beating rapidly. "He mumbled something and walked into a long tunnel that looked to be held up by dark rings, filled in with static like what you find on a TV set that looses single, and seem to come out of nowhere and vanish like a mist of smoke."

As she described the tunnel object, Batman looked up at Superman who was making a theist with both his hands. "What did this thing look like?" Superman asked his father.

"He had eyes like a devil, a helmet for a head, and his entire body was made out of rock. He was dressed in a silver metallic armor and," before Johnathan could describe the create anymore, Superman punched a hole in the wall the divided the nursery from the hall.

"Darkseid," Superman's voice echoed over the pieces of drywall falling to the maple hardwood floors. Superman turned around and looked towards Batman who was looked at the boyscout with a stone face. "He's back and his figured out my identity. But, how do we figure out where he's taken Lois and Sammy?"

"I'll get in contact with the Green Lanterns to have them check Apokolips for them. In the mean time, I am going to send some of these soil samples I've found back to Jonn for tests. In the meantime, you and I should stay here while your parents go back to the Watch Tower. Since Darkseid knows your identity, he knows about your parents. The safest place would be the Watch Tower." Batman stooped down to collect the samples to send with Martha and Johnathan when they went to the Watch Tower.

Superman nodded his head, his heart had sunk into his stomach and he was fighting back tears. His family was the most important part of his life, especially Lois and Sammy and he knew that the two of them were going through something that they did not deserve. They were in a battle that he should have been fighting, not them, not his loving wife or his newborn son. He couldn't stand there as his family was tortured by the dictator who had vowed vengeance on him and who had tried everything in his power to destroy him.

"I'll get in contact with Jonn and tell him what the plan is." Superman looked out the window. "Meanwhile, I want you to get those samples ready, get in contact with the Green Lanterns, and figure out where the hell that maniac took my family."

~*~

"There is good in you. Your mother has often mentioned how loving you were as a child." A sweet voice came from within the room, but it sounded so out of place in this setting. The room had the atmosphere of everything evil, but a caring voice was very out of place.

Lex Luthor looked up from the floor where he had been staring and looked towards the door. In the door frame stood a beautiful redhead, pale as snow, and cloaked in dark garments similar to those worn by the Greek Goddesses in paintings. She had a sad, concern look on her face and she looked away from the former business man towards the limp body of the prisoner being held within the jail.

"Funny, you seem to know so much about me, but I know nothing about you." Lex lashed back.

"Lex Luthor, you have little faith, just as your father told me. Oh yes, I know your parents and I know they are dead, but I will inform you, that they live here along with Julian." Her emerald eyes looked back upon the man standing in the middle of the torture room. "But, I will assure you that your mother and Julian are in Elysium, or the place you would refer to as heaven. Your father, on the other hand well, I'm sure you know where he ended up."

"You know me, but I don't know who you are. May I ask how you know so much about me and this place?"

"Because," the woman looked down at her sandals, "I'm Peresphone, Queen of the Underworld and consort to Hades."

"Your the reason we have seasons, when you come to live here your mother, Demeter or Goddess of the Earth, goes into mourning and we have fall and winter. Then, in the spring and summer, you are back with her." Luthor shifted his weight and looked towards the woman who finally made eye contact with him again.

She walked towards Luthor and handed him a simple flower that glowed like a night light showing hope in a dismal and hopeless atmosphere. As he accepted the gift, he realized that the flower was a forget me not, his mother's favorite flower. As he stared at the flower, he had a flashback of him being a young child and picking those same flowers and presenting them to her. She would smile at him and embrace him in a huge bear hug, twirling around in several circles before she would plop herself on the ground, put her son next to her and they would look up at the sky, looking at the clouds and deciding what looked like spilled milk and which ones looked like rabbits. Those were the memories of his mother he had, those were the memories before his father came along, put her in a mental institute, and he never saw her again. He could still remember his mother screaming, pleading to his father to not take her away from her son. As his mother called out to his father, his father simply turned around and waved his right arm to signal the car to leave with his wife in it.

Her last words to him were, "forget me not, my son. Forget me not Lex."

"Your mother told me that you would remember. This, however, is not a simple flower but it is the only hope for Louis Lane and her son. Ask the gods and goddesses to send the mother and child to safety. When you ask this, you must ask this with your whole heart." The queen of the underworld instructed the mortal. "Since you first came here, I have learned as much about you as I could. I got in contact with your mother and talked to her. She wanted me to let you know, that she loves you and knows you are a good person, you are her son. And, never forget het."

Lex looked away and felt a tear begin to slide down his face, but he quickly flicked it away, but when he looked up he was alone with the flower still in his hand. He knew what he had to do. He went into the other room, grabbed the keys of the nail posted right across from the cell and made his way towards the lock and let himself in. He went to pick Lois up, but he could feel her ribs move as he put his arms around her. As he touched them, she stirred and started to groan.

Lex laid her back down, as careful as he could and went back outside the bars and picked up Sammy. He looked down at the baby who was starting to stir and the child made eye contact with the sworn enemy of his father. The hardened criminal smiled down at him and took him into the cell and knelt next to the child's mother and held the flower next to his heart. As he asked the gods and goddesses to send the child and his mother to safety, he thought back to the memories of his mother.

She was laying on a blanket of soft grass, she was looking right at him with a bright smile on her face. She sat up and held the bouquet of flowers to her chest.

"Remember Alexander," her sweet voice echoed, "a brave knight gave this flower to the one he loved and it is meant to represent a never ending love, not just between the two of them but for all others. Never forget how much I love you and never forget me."

Tears began to streak down his face, but he heard stirring and saw Lois Lane -Kent was waking up, but he also heard a howl come from behind him.

"What are you doing?" Darkseid yelled at the top of his lungs and this caused Sammy to start to cry.

Lex never turned his head, he only made his prayer louder to the gods and goddesses and finally he felt warmth surround him. The whole time, Lex kept his eyes closed, but suddenly he smelled the ocean and he could hear the waves crashing upon a shore. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that they were all indeed on a beech, with the sunrising off to the east, but which beach he didn't know for sure. The one thing he knew, they were safe.

~*~

Over a half an hour ago, Ma & Pa Kent had gone up to the Watch Tower with the samples that were to be analyzed. Meanwhile, Superman and Batman were still in the nursery, documenting anything that they found out of place or anything that didn't belong in the room. As they continued to work, Jonn walked into the nursery.

"Your parents are resting in their quarters, but they are worried about you." Jonn informed the man of steel.

"What about the samples we sent with them?" Batman growled as he looked towards the martian.

"Sorry, but the samples were from right outside the house." Jonn answered.

The man of steel and the dark knight cringed with the news and continued at the task at hand.

"I've actually come to see if you need any assistance. I've also come down to probe the outside, but if you need me to stay in here, please let me know."

"Go outside and probe the area, we can handle it in here." Superman shot back.

Jonn nodded and walked across the room and phased through the wall. As the Martian looked around, he began to walk around the house, but he noticed that the gate that lead to a paddock was laying on the ground and a huge mass was in the paddock. This didn't seem right to the Martian and he made his way towards the crumpled up gate and looked towards th mass he had seen, noticing now that it was the stallion that Lois did not care for, but he was dead and Jonn knew the position that the stallion was in was not natural.

"Superman," Jonn called through his ear piece, "you better come out to the paddock where the stallion was being kept."

"What do you mean, was?" Superman responded.

~*~

Shayera didn't know how long she had been in the office, but suddenly she heard footsteps come running down the corridor and she quickly made her way towards the sitting room, but as she came to the entry way into the sitting room, the door opposite to where she stood swung wide open and an Amazon solider appeared.

The queen looked up towards the door, shock was written all over her face and Diana as looked towards her sister and was just as surprised at seeing her as the solider who stood at the door was to see her beloved princess.

"Your highness, I am sorry to interrupt, but the morning scouts have encountered outsiders on the beach." The auburn hair Amazon told her queen and bowed after relaying the message.

The queen quickly rose to her full height and quickly made her way to the door, but upon reaching the door frame, she turned back to her daughter. "You are to stay here."

Before Diana could protest, Shayera stepped forward. "Allow me to come with you. I'm real good in a fight."

"Very well, you may come." The winged heroine nodded after the queen had spoken and walked towards the door. "You can borrow any weapon you want."

Shayera looked towards her friend, "you stay put and we will be right back." With that she walked out and followed the Amazon solider towards the weapon storage center.

Hippolyta looked towards her daughter. "I will be right back, please don't worry and stay in my study."

Diana nodded as she stayed setting as she watched her mother leave the room and close the door behind her.

~*~

Lois began to roll her head from side to side, groaning softly as she did. Her breathing was still shallow because of her ribcage and she still felt the throbbing pain in her leg. As she began to come out of her sleep, she fluttered her eyes open to see Lex Luthor holding her son and kneeling next to her. At this sight, Lois tried to make a noise, but all that came out was gasping for air and another moan as she felt the her ribs protest to the quick movement.

Lex looked down at her, but before he could say anything, a shadow came across him and he turned around to look up at Darkseid. The dictator grabbed the bald man by the throat and lifted him up into the air so the two were eye to eye.

"You've crossed me for the last time, Luthor." With those words, the dictator squeezed the other man's throat, crushing his larynx. The eyes of the alien began to burn even brighter, but he heard the distant sound of people coming and he dropped him like a stack of books. Sammy was still in his arms, but Lex cradled his body around the infant, absorbing the shock of in pack.

Darkseid opened up a portal back to Hades' realm and quickly left Luthor to die not regretting what he had done to his former partner. After he left, Lois looked to Lex who laid upon the sand next to her, Sammy safely tucked in his arms. Lois could hear the wheezing sound he was making as he tried to breath. As she looked into the man's eyes, she found that they were clear and for the first time, they showed brightly with good and kindness.

Lex plunged his arm towards Lois, and opened up his hand to reveal the flower and he softly whispered, "forget-me-not."


	17. Chapter 17: People Who Belong

Chapter 17: People Who Belong

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future. ~ Gail Lumet Buckley

~*~

Shayera flew as quickly as she could to the spot where the night guards said they had heard voices and seen figures. In her right has was a large sword that had been handcrafted by the Amazons with a sharp steel blade and a gold handle that had fine details etched into it. On her left wrist were the bands that connect her arm to a large gold painted shield for protection. Her knee length teal summer dress flapped in the wind as she flew ahead of the Amazons who were in pursuit on the ground.

As she came over the canopy of some large deciduous trees, Shayera caught the sent of the ocean breeze and knew she had to be getting close and just after she thought that, she came into view of the white sand beach and saw, for the first time, two figures laying side by side.

"I have a visual," she relayed down to the Amazons and without requesting permission to approach the forms, Shayera dove down towards the objects and began to circle them, carefully taking in the sights of what she saw. In the background she heard the Amazons approaching fast, but she payed more attention to what was on the beach.

As she made her second circle, this time about 30 feet above the forms, she saw a face for the first time and gasped, "LOIS?!?"

Quickly, she landed between the two figures and realized who was to the side of Mrs. Clark Kent. "Oh, no." Shayear mumbled as she saw Lex Luthor's face and her own face went pale when she saw that in his arms was baby Sammy starting to stir within his warm blanket. Shayera quickly plucked Sammy from Luthor's arms and noted that he had a strong grip on the child. She turned her full attention to Lois who was breathing shallowly and had started to gargle words that Shayera could not make out.

"Wait a minute," the winged heroine whispered and turned back to Luthor noting for the first time that he was not breathing at all, in fact he laid so still that flies were landing around his mouth.

"Hera, what has happened," the Queen's authoritative voice boomed and Shayera had to catch herself from jumping with surprise when she heard the voice, but she maintained her composer. Shayera looked up to meet eyes with the mighty Queen whose fellow Amazons had pulled their swords out of their sheaths and were holding them up in battle mode.

"Your Highness, this is Lois Lane-Kent, a friend of your daughter's who need medical assistance. The man you see here is Lex Luthor, the sworn enemy of Lois' husband and the Justice League, but we have nothing to fear." She paused before she spook her next words looking from the Queen to her enemy. "He is dead."

"Sisters, please have someone run back to the palace and grab a stretcher and make ready a room in the palace. Hurry!" The Queen snapped at her subjects and a handful bowed towards her and were off to do what had been asked of them.

Shayera looked from the corpse back down at Sammy who was now looking up at his godmother. "_What have you been through?"_Shayera thought to herself as she pulled the child closer towards her and closed her eyes, as she thought about her own child back at the Watchtower.

Upon a piece of driftwood, a lone raven was perched. As the ocean breeze ruffled his feathers, he began to stretch his wings and took flight, but no one took not of him, all eyes were fixed on the figures in the sand. The raven made his way up towards the palace, watching the Amazons with a cautions eye and keeping close watch on the female with wings just like his.

~*~

The early morning sun's rays danced around the Queen's sitting room, casting playful shadows around the furniture. The warm rays were a welcome feeling to the Amazon Princess as she sat on the couch opposite of the window. As the time continued, she began to get worried about her sisters, her mother, and her friend.

Diana fidgeted with the tea cup in her hands and finally gave a frustrated sigh, put the tea cup down on the table in front of her and made her way towards the door that would lead her out into the corridor. As she opened the door, she came face to face with a fellow Amazon who who tended to the garden. The tall red head looked towards the princess' protruding stomach and let out a slight gasp at what she saw. This was not the reaction Diana was use to getting from people, but she realized that she was back on her home island where pregnancy was not something that occurred.

"Sorry to startle you, sister. I was starting to get worried it has been a while since my mother left me and I was grwoing concerned." Diana said before the other Amazon could say a word.

Shaking her head in disbelief and squinting her eyes, trying to remember where she was and who she was talking to. "Please forgive me, your highness. I usually come in this time of morning to retrieve your mother's flower basket and to ask if she has any special requests on what flowers she would like."

"Since mother is not here, why don't I come with you to the garden and help gather the flowers for today?" Diana insisted as she grabbed the flower basket that was stationed on a simple plant stand stationed next to the door.

Who would go against the word of the Amazon Princess? The red head nodded and the two women walked side by side towards the main garden.

~*~

"And your sure Lois and Sammy are fine?" Superman's voice cracked as he tried his best to hold back tears of joy as he talked with Shayera who was sitting in the Javelin. Superman himself was back on the Watchtower while Batman and Jonn continued to investigate the Kent's house.

"Lois, according to what I've seen, seems to have some bruised and possibly a few broken ribs along with a fracture to her left leg. Right now she is up in one of the bedroom being tended to by the Amazon's medical team. Don't worry Clark, she is in good hands." Shayera told the concerned husband. "Before you ask, I will see what I can do so you can come to the island and see her. No promises, but I think the queen likes me." A wide grin escaped her lips and superman returned the gesture with a smile of his own.

"Before you go," Shayera's voice cracked as she tried to regain her composer. "Lois and Sammy were not the only ones we found on the beach. We also found Lex Luthor, he's dead Clark. By the looks of things, I would say his larnyx was crushed. He was holding Sammy when I came up him. That is all I know at this time. Once Lois is fully awake, I'll go in and interview her on what went on."

Superman couldn't believe what he had heard. Was it true? Lex was gone? "Send us the coordinates to Lex's body and we will transport it back to the Watchtower"

Shayera nodded. Finally, Clark asked his final question, "where is Sammy?"

A tranquil smile came across the lips of Shayera Stewart. "Some one is borrowing him to practive being a grandmother."

Upon hearing this, it was Clark's turn to return the smile. "Sounds like the visit is going well."

~*~

Hippolyta held the sleeping infant in her arms and she was mesmorized by the tiny being saftley confined within her arms. The secret was out, strangers were on the island, but the two that were still alive from the beach were allies. The wingeld angel from the Justice League had come, accompaning Princess Diana who was not only married to a mortal, but also carried his child. The queen's wish for a quiet meeting with her daughter and her friend had gone out the window, but now her daughter could go outside the walls of her chambers and venture around her home.

Hippolyta came and sat on a bench where Diana sat. Diana looked down at Sammy and then smiled at her mother. "What do you think?"

"I forgot how tiny they are. I forgot how soft the skin is too." Hippolyta looked from the sleeping babe to her daughter. "Holding this little warrior in my arms, I am looking forward to hold my grandchild."

"You do know that this little warrior is male, right?" Diana asked her mother, hesitating as she came to the word male.

Hippolyta sighed heavily, as she looked back down at the child, the male child. "He has special permission to be her because of his young age and the fact that he is still suckling upon his mother's breast. If he was older and no longer in need of his mother's milk, he would need to be removed from the island." A single tear glistened down the right side of her face. "This changes nothing Diana, if your child is male, he will not be able to step foot upon the island after he has been weaned from your milk. As the Queen of the Amazon's I must enforce the rules, even if it means that any male children you have will never be able to set foot on this island once they reach a certain age. This however does not mean that I cannot come to see them out in man's world."

Hippolyta met her daughter's eyes and the two of them shared a smile, a smile that defined their love for each other as mother and daughter. Diana laid her head upon her mother's shoulders and smiled down at Sammy who was starting to stir.

"I think someone is ready to eat again." Diana informed her mother.

Nodding, Hippolyta smiled one last time at her daughter and rose to her full height and made her way towards the palace and towards the room where Lois Lane-Kent was being treated and cared for.

~*~

Diana sat on a bench within the Royal Gardens and chatted with her fellow Amazonian sister as she went about doing her duties as the head gardener.

Neither Amazon noticed the raven perched on a dead limb midway up on an old ash tree. The raven's eyes were fixed on the Amazon Princess and in particular, her current condition.


	18. Chapter 18: Demons Dreaming

Chapter Eighteen: Demons Dreaming

Thank you for reading, reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this short chapter. Call this the calm before the storm.

As always, I do not own any of the major characters, but a few minor characters are my own.

~*~

"And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming." ~ Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven

~*~

Skulls held back black velvet drapes that had once been pure white, but the deeds, thoughts, and wishes from the ruler's dealings had stained the velvet with the blackness of all that was true malevolence. The windows had been bricked over so that no ray of hope, no glimpse of anything good would penetrate into the throne room of Hades, King of the Underworld. Upon his throne, the master of the dead sat with his hands brought up before his face and his fingertips met up with each other. Behind these fingertips, his eyes were glazed over and his mouth showed neither a smile nor a frown, but was neutral.

His throne was conceived of bones from those who had come between him and his victory. From the skulls that acted as arm rests for the throne, scarlet fluid glowed out of the open jaws and down into the fountain that then flowed into three more tiers before running down the corridor to the entrance of the throne room. The room had the stench of human flesh, decay, and must.

From behind the door, soft echoes like hooves could be heard softly at first, but they quickly began to grow louder and finally, the door was shoved open by Ares dressed in his regal clothes and presented himself as a smug conman who had taken the last items from soldier's widow before having his way with her.

Hades looked up at his confidant, bestowing his hands to his armrest. He looked upon the blond man and kept his voice still to show no emotion. "Well, what is the progress?"

"Better than we could have expected, much better than we could have expected. Why, it was like leading the Trojan's to slaughter." The war god turned and made his way towards a finely laid banquet buffet where he helped himself to some of the wine, sat on a plush chair and made himself comfortable by propping his legs up on the left arm rest and enjoyed the wine with a large gulp from his goblet.

"Tell me Ares, has our second lamb been slaughtered?" Hades made his way from the throne to the buffet, grabbing a goblet, filling it with his wine and seating himself at the head of table.

"First we should thank the crowning achievement of Peresphone," with those words, a beautiful redhead with a milky completion came out of the shadows and stood next to Ares, her dark garments had helped her blend into the background.

"What joke is this Ares, you know this is mid-August, the dog days of summer and Persphone is with her mother?" Hades looked from the man to his left and up at the woman who stood behind him. As he looked at the woman, her features began to fade away and suddenly a purpled hair woman with a large smile.

"It's a good thing Mr. Luthor had a soft spot in his heart for his mother. The next time I go down to the dungeons I will have to thank her for giving me that information and sharing with me some of the most personal of details with her son." Circe stated as she made her way onto Ares's lap and drank from his cup.

Ares pulled the cup away from her. "That won't be good for the baby."

She glared at him and reached for the grapes and began to stuff them into her mouth as fast as she could chew and swallow them. "Speaking of babies, congratulations, grandpa."

"What are you talking about sorceress?" Hades glared at her, knowing full well that Ares had a soft spot in his heart for her and had rekindled his feelings for her after hearing what she had done to the daughter of Hippolyta and Ares. Even though she was a friend, she was one who Hades did not trust totally, but knew that when she was with Ares, she had more control of him.

Ares bumped Circe who starting coughing from swallowing a grape whole and looked towards Hades. "I have news that will be of interest and value to you. It seems that Luthor had figured out that you were indeed correct, your daughter is indeed on Earth, walking among them as a mortal and she has married a mortal as well."

Hades had been holding his goblet, but as he heard this, his grasp on the goblet tightened and it shattered into a million pieces. "That mortal I despise?"

"Not even close, she landed herself a goldmine of a billionaire who must be some man, knocking up your daughter." Circe said between bites.

"Hades, I was going to tell you in more of a regal way than this," Ares glared at his concubine and then looked back at the god of the underworld. "While Darkseid was undercover as a mere horse at the farm of Superman, he found out the truth about Diana, she has indeed married and is with child. As I was torturing Luthor's soul before coming in here, I found out that he had figured it out as well and was using it as an ace up his sleeve if you will so that he would be more useful to us. When in fact, one day I stepped into Darkseid's role as the spying stallion and I saw her and I overheard the news. She is due to bring forth this child around the Christian Holiday Christmas. The sad thing, Darkseid was unaware that I had become his understudy for a few days and it angers me that this creature has not brought the information to my attention."

Hades had thought about what he heard. His daughter was to give him a grandchild, but the problem was she had been formed sterile and shouldn't be able to conceive a child, some how she had become able to conceive and he wanted to know how and who had done this. He looked towards his guests, "let us retreat into the depths of Hades. The Justice League is on high alert right now for anything about what has happened. It has come to the point in our plot where we pull back, wait for the right moment, and strike without showing mercy like we have done."

"It will be done and I will pull Darkseid back and put him into training, though why we have figured to train him when he will see no battle is not of my understanding." Ares responded as he stripped flesh off a piece of chicken.

"Patient. You will see. You know the plan and this plan is to be kept secret." He looked hard and long at Circe who was more interested in her plate than the two men in the room.

"As you say, Lord Hades." Ares replied.

"Says the Raven, ever more." Circe answered back as they continued to indulge in the feast before them.

~*~

Labor Day weekend was marked in Metropolis as the day Lex Luthor was officially laid to rest. The Justice League had announced that his body had been found on a remote beech while a group was out on patrol. His cause of death was from his body not being able to adapt to being transported through a vortex, the vortex that took him and Darkseid when they were presented with the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid, the Justice League had announced, was not found and was believed to be still trapped in the vortex. The fact Lois Lane Kent had been kidnapped by the dictator was not revealed.

The ceremony had been well attended by many of the world's most influential business families including Bruce Wayne, his wife Diana, and their son Tim. Even Superman had given a moving memorial to his enemy, with few knowing that he had probably saved Lois and Sammy's lives. Luthor had been buried at his family's crept at Metropolis Cemetery, but a memorial had been established at the same place where years prior Luthor had built his homes for those less fortunate. The memorial ceremony last over two hours and once Bruce Wayne had finished being interviewed with the Press and shook hands with the man of steel for a picture opt, he escorted his family back to the limo where Alfred waited. Once the family was inside, they made their way towards Gotham City, but stopped halfway home to join in the festivities at the Kent House.

Members of the Justice League had been invited to take part in a few days of relaxing, eating, and spending valuable time with their families. The homestead was well protected from the eyes of the public and the neighbors with the woodlots that surrounded the house. Because of this fact, many league members had come to relax and were enjoying that last few days of summer.

On the porch sat Lois Lane-Kent who since she had returned had not quite been the same, but slowly with each passing day, she was indeed improving. Jonn had called it baby blues, but deep down, Lois felt like all the happiness within her had been leeched from her body and even her ability to love her husband and son was gone, but on this sunny day surrounded by family and friends, she felt love returning to her and her soul began to feel whole.

Ever since she had woken up on the island of Themyscira, she had been interviewed for information on what had happened, but the truth was, all Lois could remember was being in the nursery, laying on cold cement that smelled of rotting flesh, and then waking up to find Lex laying next to her on a beech. She had even allowed Jonn to look into her mind, but he came up with the exact same thing Lois had said only he had heard the faint voices of Lex and Darkseid talking, but was unable to understand what they said.

Lex had died from a crushed larynx and who had done that to him was unknown, but it was theorized that it had been Darkseid. With the threat of Darkseid, the league had started doing more intense investigation into the events that had occurred, but they were still not able to understand who was behind all of this. Darkseid had not been seen on his home world and so they began to wonder who was behind this, but as of right now, shop talk was off limit and they continued to enjoy the peaceful day.

Deep in thought, Diana sat next to Lois, holding Sammy in her arms. The two women stared out into the front yard, the members of the Justice League including Tim, Dick, Clark, Bruce, John, Shayera, and Rex were sitting on blankets or standing under the ornamental trees in the yard. They were talking, joking with one and other, and they looked to be having a great time enjoying the much deserved break from being heroes. Over twenty members of the Justice League had teleported down while others were out on patrol or monitoring everything back at the Watch Tower.

"You know something," Lois whispered to Diana, "it is great to be back home setting on my own front porch. Don't get me wrong, I loved your home island, but the lack of men was driving me crazy." The reporter shot a weak smile at the princess. "Though, I am glad that you did tell your mother the truth and I am glad she has agreed to have a relationship with your child, baby boy or baby girl."

Diana smiled at Lois and looked back down at Sammy. She was glad to hear her mother say she would have a relationship with her grandchild, no matter if it was a boy and she would be required to come off the island in order to see the child. But, as Diana looked out towards the yard where everyone she loved stood, she had to agree that the Kent's front porch was a great place to sit.

Off to the side of the porch, perched on an old oak tree, a single raven watched the two women with eyes sharp with revenge, merciless as a northern wind, and cold as the upcoming winter.


	19. Chapter 19: Passengers to the Grave

**Writer's Notes**

Please enjoy this new chapter and as always, remember to read and review. We are in the homestretch now for this story and I have pulled out all the stops so let me know what you think. I am not making a profit from this work of fiction and a few of the minor characters are my own creation.

Chapter Nineteen: Passengers to the Grave

"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys." ~Charles Dickens

~*~

Christmas Eve

Frost highlighted the remnants of the old elm leaves that were still attached to the old trees in the decrepit windbreak. The old Nebraska farmstead had laid abandoned for over fifty years and showed the signs of the harsh life it was force to subsist after the occupants took up residence over two miles away once the farming economy had turned up after WWII. The forgotten farmhouse was a two story, Victorian style dwelling with flakes of white still clinging to the weathered boards and a saggy wrap around porch.

From the road, it looked like nothing more than an old homestead with wind torn barns still used to house tractors, old chicken coops that were now home to feral farm cats, and a carriage house that had collapsed under its own weight. This farmstead was nothing different than the hundreds of other abandoned homesteads that were sprinkled across the vast prairie, but this homestead was owned by Pat Dugan, better known as S.T.R.I.P.E. a member of the Justice League and step father to Courtney Whitmore or Stargirl of the Justice League.

Since joining the Justice League, Pat had offered the league the use of the old farmstead that was an important part of his family's history. Now, it was an important part of Justice League history. It was within the living room that countless numbers of people had been teleported to the Watch Tower, including Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., and trusted locals who worked up on the Watch tower, but never knew the truth about Dugan or Whitmore's true identities. It was assumed that Dugan worked as a mechanic for the heroes and his daughter accompanied him on her days off from school. The widows who spent their mornings at the local coffee shop in the old Sinclair gas station would have been blown away about the fact that the boy they had seen grow up, move away, and come back a married man was in fact a protector of the Earth.

Mid morning on Christmas Eve, Pat and Courtney made their way to the old farmstead in the aged Chevy. Courtney was all excited about going up to the Watch Tower, even if it meant that she had to work Christmas Eve, but within her book bag was not only her staff, which could be collapsed into a small version of itself, but also a Christmas present for Adabella Queen who she had babysat several times since the little girl had been born and the weird activity that had taken place back in the past spring and summer. As mysteriously as the activity of the undead soldiers coming to life, razing havoc on Metropolis had arrived it simply vanished and after Lois Lane Kent had been rescued, everything went back to being normal. In fact, the league had several of the original members investigating what had happened the past summer and the rest of the league had to scrounge to find something to do some days. With the holiday season in full swing, the league had decided to beef up security and have extra members on patrol for any disaster that may occur with a majority of the planet taking time to be with their friends, family, and away from work.

Courtney knew that being a superhero meant making sacrifices and helping others who may not show their appreciation. Then again, she was going to be spending time with Adabella since both of her parents were going to be working at the Watch Tower Christmas Eve as well.

Opening the creaky passenger door, Courtney started to hum Jingle Bells as she made her way towards the front porch and into the old house. Pat smiled at his step daughter as he drove the truck into the carriage house that was actually a hologram to hide the truck while they were away on business. Once he had finished parking the truck, he locked the rusty vehicle, made his way towards the house, he placed the truck key under an old whiskey barrel and made his way inside to see Whitney finishing her conversation with the Watch Tower.

"They will be teleporting us up in less than two minutes." Whitney informed her step father as she sung her backpack onto her shoulders and gave him a cheerful smile.

"You're in a good mood. What gives? It wouldn't have anything to do with a little "queen" by chance?" He shot back at her.

"Well, as a matter of fact I am," a stirring up in the old support beams caught her attention and she focused on what was stirring in the rotting ceiling. "Look Pat, it's a Raven. You know, they are considered intelligent birds, I bet he is even cleaner than a certain Robin I know and has better manners."

As she finished her sentence, the shrouds of light implementing the transporter beam, but at that moment the raven swooshed down into the beam and was transported into the Watch Tower with the two heroes. As they materialized on the Watch Tower, Pat looked up to see the raven and began to lunge for the bird, but the raven flew off towards the control panel causing Pat to fall flat on his face. Upon seeing what was happening, the personnel behind the control panel tried to grab the bird that had landed at the top of the control panel, right on top of some naked wires and when the bird reacted to the sudden movement of the humans, it took off again, this time with the wires in its talons. The wires broke like a string that had been pulled to tight and sparks began to fly, but the sparks provided a distraction from the bee-bee sized ball baring that fell into the mass of wires that wrapped their way towards the floor and deeper into the work station.

Other members of the staff began to assist with the capture of the unwelcomed guess. For several minutes, the staff chased the raven that kept causing more trouble as staff members chased the bird around the room causing more damage to the control room. Finally, the pest landed on an exposed panel of fuses, but Flash, who had streaked in snuck up behind the dark varmint and plucked it up quickly. As he picked it up, the bird had latched onto several of the fuses and didn't let go until the Flash was holding it far above the panel, but before letting go, the bird squeezed the fuses with its claws and then dropped the crumpled pieces to the floor with a dull thud.

Flash looked down at the fragments and then lifted his head up to come face to face with Jonn Jones who gave a glare at the scarlet speedster. Upon seeing the Martian's eyes, Flash smiled at him and said the only thing he could.

"Did I do that?" Flash asked as his smile melted away as he walked towards the transporter. "Why don't I take this little guy back to where he belongs?"

Without hesitation, Jonn teleported Flash and the raven back to the abandoned homestead where Flash let go of the menace. "Don't go flying into any more streams of light or any windows." Flash yelled out to the raven as he flew up and out through the hole in the roof. Flash then looked around at his surroundings and began to tap his foot impatiently. "So, I think I've learned my lesson." He quickly clicked his ear communicator, "Yo, Jonn a little help here?"

Instantly Flash was back on the Watch Tower, but once he had materialized, the teleporter began to spark and the control panel where the bird had pulled at the wires and fuses burst into a fireworks show.

"Well, we better start repairing the control panel. As of right now, no one will be able to teleport to or from the Watch Tower." Jonn stated as he took his tools and began to assess the damage. "It was as if that bird knew where to attack."

"Come on Jonn, it was just a raven. Remember what happened when the rat got on board and chewed at the wiring? We didn't have wireless internet for over a week! I was so having You Tube with drawls." Flash answered back as he made his way towards the control panel to see if he could be of any assistance.

Back at the homestead, the raven landed on the steps leading up to the house and instantly metamorphed into a tall, blonde haired man who was dressed in dark garments. Ares, Lord of War had gone behind enemy lines and taken out one of the main lifelines of the Justice League.

~*~

The Kents had a wonderful front porch, but the Waynes had a magnificent back porch with a view of the ocean that brushed up against the cliff where Wayne Manor stood. The December weather had brought above average temperatures to Gotham City and because of this warm weather, Diana had requested that the bench swing be kept out for her to enjoy when she would go outside and Christmas Eve was no exception. It was mid-afternoon and the temperature was in the mid 70's with a warm southern breeze blowing about the grounds.

Diana sat on the overstuffed flower pattern cushion that was atop the bench swing with Tim Drake-Wayne sitting next to her on the right. Graced in a sky blue velvet maternity dress with ¾ sleeves and a skirt that was cut to her ankles, Diana dangled her left leg over the bench while her right leg was tucked underneath her. She had put in sapphire studded earrings, the wedding and engagement ring that had once belonged to Martha Wayne adorned her left middle finger since it no longer fit on her ring finger and she couldn't bring herself to have it resized, and a simple pair of matching sky blue ballerina slippers that were both comfortable and kept her feet warm adorn her feet.

Tim was dressed in worn blue jeans, a long sleeved red shirt with a blue short sleeved Superman logo t-shirt on top, and his favorite pair of tattered sneakers. His feet were in contact with the porch and he rocked the swing compassionately for his surrogate mother. A smile of peace was upon his face as he stared across the yard and at the serenity of the sea and sky.

Without a word of warning, Tim snickered to himself and drew Diana's attention to his face from where she had been looking towards the birdfeeder where some sparrows had been feeding.

"I don't think Bruce was overly excited about my outfit this morning." Tim addressed his proxy mother, as he stared her in the eyes. His signature grin spread across his face, "Bruce taught me to always accept gifts from others and the Kents did give me this shirt for thanking me for helping them this past summer and after school. Although, I think Clark gave it to me to get Bruce's goat going and by the bat glare I got this morning, I would say Clark was successful."

Diana let out a soft giggle and leaned back farther into the swing. "Well, it made my day to see the look on his face. He will get over it, or I hope he does before he finds out what they are giving us for a baby gift." Diana sighed as she looked from Tim back to her large midsection and rubbed the upper portion of her stomach where the baby had just kick.

"Did the baby kick again?" Tim asked as he looked to the area where Diana was rubbing affectionately.

"Yes, would you like to feel?" Diana asked and with out an answer from Tim, plucked his left hand that had been resting on his left knee and placed it on her stomach. She knew Tim had wanted to feel the baby move within her, but was to shy to ask especially when others were around. She had seen the way Tim watched as she and Bruce would place their hands to Diana's stomach to feel the baby move and had seen in his eyes, he wanted to feel as well, but felt it wasn't his place to take part in those family bonding moments. Bruce had even asked if he would like to feel, but Tim would just mumble something and leave the room.

"Wow, does the baby do this all the time?" Tim asked as he felt his sibling stir within Diana's womb.

"When he or she had more room, it felt like a miniature gym within me. Now, she or he moves less often because of the cramp conditions, but sometimes it feels like I should have bruises on my stomach and ribs. This little one was definitely blessed with the strength of the gods," Diana answered looking towards Tim.

"Why do you rotate between he or she and she or he?" Tim looked back at Diana, his left hand was still on her stomach and it now felt like the baby was hiccupping.

"It doesn't seem fair to refer to the baby as the baby or he or as a she all the time. We honestly don't know the gender, but I do have a motherly intuition that I have recorded in my pregnancy journal. And, no I won't let you know or let you read my journal, not until after the baby has been born." Diana shot Tim a roguish grin.

Tim didn't seem to notice, he was still intoxicated by the movement occurring beneath his fingertips. As he went to say something to Diana, the ringing of his cell phone in his jean pocket interrupted him. He hastily answered his phone.

"This is Tim," Tim answered as he sat up and stopped the swinging motion. "Hey Dick, what's up?" Tim sat quietly as he listened to his older brother on the other end of the line.

"Let me ask mom," Tim looked towards Diana, mustering up the best puppy dog look he had on his face. "Is it okay if Dick picks me up so we can go out and finish some shopping? He promises to have us back before to the manor before Christmas Eve family dinner? PLEASE"

With a deep sigh, Diana folded her arms across her chest and tried her best to play the part of strict parent. "As long as you two are back before tonight's dinner, I see nothing wrong with this last minute crusade."

With that said, Tim returned back to his cell phone and removed his hand that he had used to cover the receiver portion of the phone. "She said as long we are back before the start of dinner, it is fine. Meet you out front of the manor in 15 minutes." Tim ended the phone transmission, placed it back in his right jean pocket and leaned over and gave Diana a peck on the check. Giving her a crooked smile, he stood up and walked towards the kitchen door to go inside the manner to grab his wallet and make a few last minute changes to his wardrobe and splash on some cologne.

Diana watched him disappear into the mansion with a motherly glow about her and shook her head tenderly from side to side. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back and took a sharp inhale through her nose. Her back had been bothering her for the past two months, but starting last night, her back seemed to have cramps and pains that were becoming more intense with each passing hour. Jonn had told her this was normal and their was no need to be alarmed.

Shifting uncomfortably, Diana found that holding her back up straighter made the pain more tolerable. Her motherly intuition was implying that her pregnancy would be soon coming to an end.

~*~

The time had come, Hades and Ares knew the eleventh hour was upon them and now was the time to strike and to strike hard. As they walked towards the courtyard where Circe would be waiting for them, Hades who was in the lead glanced over his right shoulder towards his companion, both men were walking in full stride.

"You're sure your concubine has done everything that was asked of her? She has made it so I may partake in the festivities?" Hades asked sternly as to remind Ares their was no room for mistakes, not now.

"You worry to much old friend; you will be very pleased with what she has done." Ares stated as they came into the courtyard and pointed towards the sorceress who stood in the middle of the rotting columns of flesh that encircled her and her book of spells that was situated on a podium made from bones with pieces of flesh still hanging on. The columns had once held up a gazebo that has long since collapsed, leaving only the columns as a reminder of its presents.

The sorceress was dressed in a large, dark toga that would have drenched her small frame except for the baby bump that made the garment pull away from her body. She smiled up at the two gods and then gestured around her and the gods who were now standing next to her.

"Welcome, please note that there are eight columns and that makes eight spaces, seven of which will act as portals to the seven continents of the Earth." As she stated this, plasma like fields began to fill seven of the spaces and suddenly images from each of the continents filled the void with pictures of London, the pyramids, the Great Wall, frozen tundra, kangaroos, Brazil's rainforest, and the Statue of Liberty.

"I have forged these special swords," with the flip of her fingers, two well crafted swords appeared and offered them selves to Hades and Ares who took a hold of the handles without hesitation. "These swords act as remote controls, all you have to do is stand in front of the portal of the continent who desire to go to, speak the location you wish to dispatch your armies to and you will be there."

Ares took the lead and approached the Asia portal and spoke boldly, "Tokyo." Just as soon as the last syllable had left his lips, the populated city came into view and these pleased Ares as he put his sword in the sheath on his belt, turned and embraced his lover fiercely.

Hades was not please, his face showed that he was no impressed with that he saw and took his sword and tapped the witch on her right shoulder. Circe broke her lip lock from Areas and turned to face the Lord of the Dead.

"May I remind you that I would like to take part in this pillage and I want to make sure that when I will be able to walk through these portals," His voice boomed as he locked eyes with the woman.

With a mischievous grin, Circe snapped her fingers and two souls appeared before her one was Lex Luthor's torment soul and the other was the soul of Mrs. Lionel Luthor. The two stood in front of the podium that held her magic book and both looked as though they had been dragged through the ringer and tortured with out stop for a while.

"You see, we are not done with these two yet." Circe looked towards Lex. "In fact, the torture is just about to begin. In order for Hades to take part in this escapades, I need to borrow if you will the strongest magic the world has to offer, the power of love between a mother and her child. Even though you are both dead, I can still feed of off your love for one and other, but this feeding will be extremely painful and make you wish you were never born. So, with that, who wants to go first?"

~*~

With her lack of sleep from the previous night, Diana had stretched out on the swing after Tim had left and had taken an hour and half-long nap and was interrupted by the pain in her back. This time, the pain was more concentrated towards the front of her stomach and she reached for the support pole behind her head. As the pain intensified, she held her breath, agony swept across her face, and she tightened her left hand's grip on the support pole, causing it to become bent. The pain slowly began to subside and she tried to catch the breath she had been holding. Her right hand had been on her stomach and she felt the muscles tighten significantly when the back pains started and relax as the pain disappeared. The grip on the support pole also relaxed and she took her right hand, grabbed the metal bar that ran behind the back cushion and pulled herself up to a sitting position with her feet still propped up on the rest of the bench.

"Okay, I get the point, its time to call dad and Jonn." Diana spoke to her stomach as she rubbed it with both her hands. With the grace of a princess, Diana swung her feet towards the porch and stood up as carefully as she could. She noticed as she stood up, her back felt much better and it also was a relief to stretch her muscles. For the first time since she had awaken from the nap, Diana noticed the temperature had fallen drastically from the warm, clear skies to wickedly cold winds from the north and threatening clouds high above the birdfeeder that was now vacant, but over half full with birdfeed.

Diana could feel evil and dismay within the violent breeze that swept past her and caused her dress to dance with the wind. From the sound of the waves crashing ruthlessly against the cliffs, Diana knew, the war was about to resume again.

"Mistress Diana," Alfred's voice broke through the wind. He was poking his head out of the kitchen door looking straight at her with concern all over his face. "You best get in here, this weather is not desirable for a woman in your condition and you have to see what is on the television."

Diana nodded slowly with agreement and made her way towards the door. As she entered the entry, she looked over her shoulder one last time at the dark sky. This weather wasn't caused by nature, but by a dark force Diana knew to well. She broke her gaze from the skies and entered the kitchen, closing the sliding glass door and making her way towards the living room where Alfred stood, focused on the big screen TV. Diana walked towards him, her arms at her side and stood next to him; she too was fixed on the images being projected on the screen and shock bemused her face as she saw a sight that was all so familiar.

Walking skeletons, of men and beasts were shown moving in formations like soldiers. The images showed these decaying warriors in Paris, then another frame showed them in Tokyo, and the final shot showed the troops marching in downtown Gotham City.

"This scene started almost an hour ago all over the world with these walking dead men coming out of the ground." A bewildered Summer Gleeson told the camera that was situated across from where she sat at the news desk. "Along with these walking dead, the temperatures across the globe are dropping dramatically and precipitation has started to fall in the form of snow, sleet, rain, and hail in some parts of the world."

"My word, I do hope Master Bruce is alright. He should have been home by now." Alfred stated as he looked to the clock that hung on the wall and strained to see if he could hear any movement from the study where one of the entrances to the Batcave was concealed.

"We have just learned that a man claiming to be the leader of this," Summer stumbled over her own tongue, looking for the appropriate word or words to use, "mob."

The image of the reporter became static and dissolved into the image of a dark haired man with hatred burning in his eyes. At the sight of him, Diana inhaled sharply through her clenched teeth and balled her hands into tights fists.

"As the mortal say when something that should never come about occurs, 'when Hades freezes over." Hades voice boomed from the television set in Wayne manor and all over the world, the glass of every building in the world exploded, propelling shards of glass at bewildered bystanders. Billions of people became crazy and panic blanketed the entire earth in the blink of the eye. Running for their lives, the screen showed people frantically trying to get away from the horrors that were being unleashed around them. The armies of the undead came to life and started killing innocent people and burning what ever stood in their path.

"Hades," was all Diana could say as she stared at the television and the sound of her com link echoed in her ears.

"Diana, you need to get to the master bedroom for teleportation as quickly as you can." Jonn's voice instructed through the tiny com link.

With out flinching, Diana's right hand reached towards the com link in her ear. "I understand Jonn; give us a minute to get to the master bedroom." She turned towards Alfred and placed a stern hand on the gentleman's shoulders. "Alfred, the Watchtower is going to transport both of us."

"What do you mean we Diana? I only detect your single?" the Martian shot back to his dear friend. "I only have enough energy to teleport one person!"

Diana glanced in the direction of her com link and returned her eyes back to Alfred. "We need to get to the master bedroom quickly." Alfred looked at his mistress bewildered and frightened, but before he could protest, the mansion began to shake as if an earthquake was occurring and he became unsteady on his feat. As the butler began to fall, Diana caught him and they were air borne, heading towards the second level and eventually down the hall to the master bedroom. As soon as they arrived at the doorway, Diana stood Alfred back up and he was once again wobbly from the movement of the mansion.

Alfred made his way through the large French Doors towards the center of the room with Diana at his side. As they neared their destination, Diana felt the pain start to build up and doubled over, both of her hands going towards her stomach as she let out a painful grown. At the sound of the lady of the house in pain, Alfred stopped and knelt down next to her.

"Princess, is it time?" Alfred asked, concern was embedded in his words and showed on his face.

"I think it is, but you need to get to the Watchtower first and I will be right after you." Diana answered as the pain passed quickly and hadn't been as intense as the last one she had down on the porch.

"I will do nothing of the sort. You are about to give birth and you are giving me the first chance to safety; I couldn't live with myself as a gentleman. You will go first. It is my duty and obligation to Master Bruce to protect you and your child at all cost." As Alfred spoke, the walls of the master bedroom wobbled and plaster fell from the ceiling all around them.

Diana rose to her full height and Alfred did the same right along with her. "You are right." Reaching towards her right ear, she withdrew the com link and with her left hand, she reached for Alfred's right hand, turned it over so the palm was facing up. "You will need this though so they can get a lock on you." As she spoke, she hit the homing signal used for transporting members in cases of emergency and placed the com link in the kind hands of the surrogate grandfather and quickly stepped back.

A cloudy mist began to engulf Alfred and he realized he had been tricked. "No! Mistress Diana!" Was all he could say as he felt himself begin to tingle and slowly vanished.

Tears slid down Diana's face. "I'm sorry Alfred, but knowing I put my own life before someone else's in a time of crises, I wouldn't be able to call myself a superhero or an Amazon." She closed her eyes tightly as the aging butler vanished into thin air.

Alfred materialized on the Watchtower and came face to face with Jonn Jones. " Diana!" Alfred shrieked.

"Where is Diana?" Jonn asked Alfred as he approached the Englishman who stood before him.

"She," Alfred looked down at his feet, tears were starting to burn within his eyes as he mustered the courage to talk. "She is still at Wayne Manor. She told me to take this," he held out his hand that held the com link, "and you would be able to lock onto my location after you had transported her first. You can still lock onto her, she is standing in the same vicinity I had been moments before"

"That will not be possible," the Martian stated somberly as he put a caring hand on the sagging shoulder of the butler, "the transporter has been damaged and we were only able to take one person. We have no means of repairing the transporter now, we are short handed and chaos has begun."

Alfred Pennyworth clenched his jaw at those words and lifted his head to look out the giant windows down at the Earth. He silently said a prayer, asking for the safety of his family. He then remembered what had happened right before he was transported to the Watchtower. Looking the Martian in the eyes, he stated, "Mistress Diana is in labor."


	20. Chapter 20: A Nightmare in a Surreal Way

**Writer's Notes**

Please enjoy this new chapter and as always, remember to read and review. We are in the homestretch now for this story and I have pulled out all the stops so let me know what you think. I am not making a profit from this work of fiction and a few of the minor characters are my own creation.

Chapter Twenty: A Nightmare in a Surreal Way

* * *

The artist must see the war with a unique vision. If he doesn't, then he hasn't added anything to our lives. We can pick up "Time" magazine and get that account of what happened, but what truly happened we must get from the artist. To me that war was a nightmare and it is best expressed in a surreal way. And that is why it is written in that style and in that attitude. War is a form of madness. -William Eastlake

* * *

Gotham Mall was a busy place, especially on Christmas Eve. Thousands of last minute shoppers had packed the three tier shopping precinct hoping to pick up last minute gifts, snag a few bargain, and get the courage to purchase an item that would change their life forever, or so that is why Dick Grayson was shopping. The young man in his twenties stood over another case of diamonds and looked down into the bottomless pit of clarity, carrots, and cuts with a bewildered look. Standing next to him on his right was Tim Drake-Wayne, his kid brother who was leaning up against the display, hands in his jean pockets. Since it was unusually warm for Gotham, both of them had bypassed coats and were walking around in long sleeved shirts just like it was fall instead of Christmas time.

"Gee, there are so many," Dick stated as he just stared down into the abyss of diamonds. "What would be the best pick?"

"Sir, if I may state that this gift you present this young lady will not be just another random object, but the object she will wear the rest of her life. Just try to imagine that she will be wearing this ring for the rest of her life, on your first anniversary, when your first child arrives, when you both decide to retire."

"Or, when she slaps you across the face because of some smart ass remark you made so you better not get a big one. That way it doesn't leave a dent in your skull" Tim piped in as the store clerk, who knew who he was dealing with and was thinking of his bonus with this purchase, continued into his pitch about the ring being an investment.

Dick rolled his eyes at Tim and then addressed the gentleman behind the counter. "I've made up my mind. This is going to be something from the heart and something that is unique." As he finished his sentenced he side stepped to his left, next to another display case with a hodge poodge of fine jewelry and pointed towards a blue sapphire that was surrounded by four diminutive diamonds, each pointing to the four directions. "This is what I want. Like I said, it is unique and sapphires are her favorite stones, plus no one else will have an engagement ring like this."

"No, they won't," grumbled the gentleman as he pulled out the ring, that rang up for a lousy $800.00 dollars, compared to the diamonds in the other display case that started at $23,000.00, and prepared it for its new owner. "Though this won't go with any of the wedding bands we have."

"I'm going to hold off on the wedding band."

"Just in case she turns him down" Tim chimed in.

"Actually, you little twerp, I was thinking we would come back and design rings to match later on." Dick answered, side glancing at his bro.

With the idea of the young rich man coming back to do personal designed rings, the jeweler hastened the purchasing process and grabbed a bunch of material about purchasing personalize jewelry from the store. "an excellent idea sir, here is some reading material, along with my information on how to contact me and I will personally see to it that you are taken care of."

As Dick finished the transaction, Tim slowly made his way out towards the main corridor of the mall where a group of shoppers had huddled around the display window of an electronics store. Tim figured it was one of those sappy Christmas movies that made everyone feel all gooey inside, but as he approached the display, his holiday smile melted away at the image of terror that was being recorded live all around the world.

What Tim saw, reminded him of a bloody, gory video game or movie he would watch and thank God that what he saw was not real, but this was very real and the bodies he saw laying dead were not stunt doubles or wax figures, they were just as real as he was. It was Metropolis all over again, only this time it was world wide, more dead soldiers, and this time they brought large, ugly pets with them. The animals they had with them looked like creatures from some of Diana's art work, they had to be part beast part man. Some of the creatures had head like bulls and the lower body of a man, these Tim knew were Mentors and they were nasty creatures, or so he remembered from Greek Mythology class.

Dick had joined Tim and one of the men from the front row, who was dressed like he had just came off a cruise ship with flips flops, Bermuda shorts, and a Hawaiian shirt, sarcastically chuckled, "this is so bogus, look at these props, who are they fooling any."

Before he could finish his sentence, the windows in the roof were all smashed open and demonic creatures began to crawl through the shrouds of glass, on to the ceiling, and then down the walls towards the humans below. Panic erupted as people screamed, called to their loved ones, and ran distraughtly towards the doors or a few who were jumping off the balconies to get to the main floor below.

Dick grabbed Tim by the shoulder and pulled him towards the jewelry store again. Since they were on the main floor, Dick was gambling that the store would have a back door and he was right. Dick, Tim, and a few other patrons got into the shop just as the jeweler had hit the alarm to cage everything and everyone in.

"Is there a back door?" Dick asked.

The jeweler didn't answer for he was already on his way toward the back room and was opening the doors that swung out into the parking lot, but the scene that welcomed them was a far cry from what they had scene when they came into the mall less than 30 minutes ago. Snow was falling, fowl creatures were destroying vehicles, and dead bodies discarded across the parking lot like litter from a fast food restaurant.

Dick dodged the creatures and crazed civilians with Tim right behind him. Dick lead the way towards Wayne Towers that was only 4 blocks away. Within the building, Dick knew they would be able to find their costumes, transportation, and a secure network to the Watchtower to find out what the hell was going on.

~*~

As soon as Alfred was gone, Diana felt the dissolving pain of the contraction start to intensify again and she navigated her way to the master bed. As she came upon it, her feet became like string cheese and she fell next to the bed and grabbed the sheets, squeezing them as hard as she could. She clinched her teeth and tried desperately to do her Lamaze breathing, but her mind was focused on the pain.

"Hera, help me," she whispered as she began to take long, deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth.

~*~

"Please inform me what is going on," Alfred demanded as he walked off the transporter pads and walked to where Jonn was pushing buttons, but all that came about was sparks from beneath the keyboard and the transporter pad itself.

The Martian Manhunter turned his face away from the sparks and turned towards the butler. "Almost an hour ago reports of zombie soldiers began to pour in from all reaches of Earth. We tried to teleport league members down to the surface but we had a mishap this morning with the transporter. Batman radioed us and told me to get the machine working so I could transport Diana here. So, I did some imaginative engineering and was able to teleport just one person up here, but it looks that Diana gave that safe passage to you." Jonn hastily reached for his communicator lodged in his ear cannel and spoke calmly once again. "Batman, do you read me?"

There was static for almost a minute before Batman's voice came back. "Jonn, did you get Diana?"

The Martian hit a button and the conversation from the ear piece was now on the speakers connected to the control center Jonn was manning. Behind him, league members and crew were moving about hastily, trying to get in contact with league members who were already on Earth and making preparations to get the superheroes on the Watchtower down to Earth via transports and Javelins. It was chaotic and no one seemed to notice Jonn was talking to Batman or the stranger in the suit who was very much out of place.

"I'm sorry, she gave her ear link to Albert and I teleported him up instead." Jonn informed his comrade, but was interrupted by the desperate voice of Alfred Pennyworth.

"Sir, I tried to make her go first, but she tricked me saying she couldn't call herself an Amazon or a hero if she knew she had put her life before mine. This is my entire fault." The thick English accent of Alfred's trembled and the aging butler tried his best to hold back hot, salty tears, but was forced to pull his hander kerchief out of his front pocket of his coat.

"Alfred, listen to me," Batman's voice boomed back but not a trace of anger or disappointed could be heard with in his tone; rather it was a tone he used to reassure others. "Diana is stubborn and she was doing what she thought was right. I am on my way to the mansion right now. Any leads as to who or what is behind all this?"

"Hades has come forward and stated this is all his doing. So far we have reports of destruction similar to what we saw at Metropolis coming in from all seven continents. We . . ." The link went dead before the Martian could finish his transmission.

"This isn't looking good," Flash stated as he walked towards Alfred and Jonn. "We barely have communication between us and Earth. As if what is going wrong with the transporter is going wrong with communication and everything linked to our main system. As if that black bird we had in here this morning was really a black cat telling us we would have bad luck today"

Jonn's eyes went wide as a thought came to his mind, THE BIRD. The raven was often a sign of destruction and was sometimes associated with Ares, god of War. They had been sabotaged. "Flash, I will need your help. The raven that was here earlier this morning dropped something into our computer, some sort of virus. We need to find it." Jonn looked to Alfred. "Since you have worked with Batman you probably know how to work with mechanics? Or, I could send you with Superman and the rest of the teams who are deploying to Earth? We need every able body's help with this."

"It will be my honor. " Alfred stated as he followed the Manhunter towards the council where the raven had landed earlier that morning and began to tear apart the panels, looking for a needle in a haystack.

~*~

Dick and Tim entered into the secret compartments within the bowels of the Wayne Enterprises Corporate Headquarters. As they made their way towards the compartments that housed the spare costumes, the lights flickered to life and a soft hum could be heard in the distance, the back up generators were running as were many more generators across the city and the world.

Tim hadn't spoken a word since they took off from the mall. It has hit him, the fears and worse case scenarios that the members of the Justice League had been fearing about was here, Hell had broken loose and it wasn't just in Metropolis like the last round, this was world wide and this would separate the men from the boys. In the back of Tim's mind, he had a bad feeling that something was about to happen and lives would be lost. For the first time, since he had become a ward of Bruce Wayne, he was scared for his life and was unsure what would happen.

"You okay bro, I mean you have been quite for more than ten seconds," Dick asked as he picked out his Nightwing costume and made his way to the changing area, stopping to look Tim in the eye who was picking out what arsenal he would be putting in his Utility Belt.

Tim simply shrugged and gave a deep sigh as he opened up a compartment in his belt and starting going through the contents. "I don't know. This feels unreal, like I am in a bad dream. For the first time, in a long time, I'm worried about my family, I'm worried about myself. Am I ready for this? Do I have what it takes to be a hero? Am I . . ." Tim was interrupted by a sturdy hand clasping his right shoulder, looking up he saw his older brother smiling at him.

"Listen to me, we've had the best mentor and we've been through every scenario he could think of and we've passed. Think of this your opportunity to show your mentor that you are no longer a student."

"You both can prove you no longer need your Superman flashlight when you got out on patrol." A female voice came from the entrance to the changing area. Both of the male superheroes looked over to see Batgirl, standing in front of them with her hands on her hips and a mischievous grin on her lips.

When he saw her, Dick's heart skipped a beat, like it did the first time he met her. He thought about the package he bought her that was safely tucked within his pants pocket.

"Though, you two are both slow. Bruce has been here and left already. Of course he was gone when I got here." She walked towards the cohorts, looking from Dick and then back to Tim.

"He had a phone conference this morning and it must have gone longer than he was planning," Tim informed them.

"Well, when I got here about 10 minutes ago, he was gone and so is the spare Batcycle, so don't have any form of transportation." Babs said. "So, where did you come from?"

"We had to pick up a few last minute things for Alfred and Diana, but while we were at the Tea For Me Store in the mall, those creatures came in and Tim and I high tailed it here." Dick made a quick glance towards his brother, but noticed that he was still pale from the realization that he about to go up against something no one was thought possible. "We figured we better get here and find out what is going on. How about you?"

"I was getting ready to take the toys that the Gotham Police Department had collected to the local shelters, but before I could get all the toys in my car, those creatures came out of no where." Her mischievous grin melted away along with the softness in her eyes, fear and discus replaced them. "They got into the police station just by brut force, they had no weapons, but bullets didn't even faze them and a few of them were like dragons and had flames coming out of their mouth. It was like Metropolis all over again, only this time, something just doesn't feel right."

As she had been talking Tim walked over to the communications panel, but when he tried to signal anyone, he just go dead air. Communications was gone, they were on their own. "We have no radio," was all he could say as he looked from the panel to the two lovebirds, but they weren't staring dreamily into each others eyes, instead they were looking at Tim.

Dick was the first to talk. "Then, we better get going. Tim, get changed, Babs, tried to find some sort of transportation. Go down and look in Mr. Fox's office and lab; he is always working on gadgets for Bruce and the league. Look for all the fire power you can, I have a feeling we will need every thing we can get. This is our opportunity to prove we belong in the Justice League."

~*~

Diana was starting to calm down and the pain was receding from a new wave of contractions when she heard movement from the first floor. For an instant she felt her heart sink low into her stomach and her blood turned cold. All she could see was Hades entering her home and the thought of him standing in her living room made her fume with rage.

"Diana, where are you?" The voice of her husband echoed as the house began to tremble again. A wave of relief swept through her and she congregated her strength to yell back to him.

"I'm in the bedroom," she screamed towards the door. She was relieved it was her husband and laid her head between her outstretched arms on the comforter. They were safe; she knew deep in her heart, her and her child were safe.

Two arms encircled Diana and gentle pulled her out of the kneeling position she had been in to a standing position and finally into the arms of her knight, the dark knight. Bruce was in his Batman outfit, but he used his caring Bruce Wayne voice as he talked to her.

"I need to get you out of here," he stated as he made his way to the doorway and back into the hallway carrying his wife. As he walked towards the staircase, the house once again started to shake and he quickened his pace, literally flying down the stairs and turning into the study. He opened the secret passage to the batcave that was behind the clock, stepped down onto the stairs that would take him and his wife to the safety of the catacombs beneath the mansion. Once he was through the secret doorway, he stretched out his right hand from beneath Diana and dipped his gloved fingers into some purple dust that was in a silver bowl that rested in a make shift shadow box that had been carved out of the walls of the cliff his family home rested on. With several pinches of the purple dust in his gloves, he turned around and let the dust fall to the ground where the cave and house connected.

"Raeppasid Ecnartne," Batman's deep voice echoed from within the depths of the caverns. Upon command, the secret doorway vanished and was replaced with the rock similar to the rest of the walls of the cave.

Batman turned back to his wife who had wrapped her arms around his neck. She was pale and the sweat he saw on her forehead made him nervous.

"I thought you didn't believe in magic," she asked her husband as he continued down the stairway to the Batcave.

"Sometimes, we need to believe in magic and I had asked Zantana for something that would work incase we would become under attack and need the entrances to the Batcave to disappear." He ever so gently made his way to the Batcomputer and sat Diana down in the chair he occupied when he worked.

He looked her over and began to notice she was still pale. With the eloquence of a princess, Diana stood up and looked him straight in the eye, but before she could open her mouth she grasped for the panel along the batcomputer and crumpled the simple plastic with her bare hands as she moaned and squeezed her eyes shut.

It was Bruce Wayne's turn to feel a wave of panic rush through his body as he saw his wife. He stepped towards her, but heard a faint splash and looked down to see a pool of water encircling Diana and knew instantly that labor was imminent. As he looked from the water, his gazed followed up Diana's velvet dress that was soaked from the knees down and looked up her torso to her face.

"Bruce, its time." With those words, she let go of the panel and fell into the arms of her beloved husband and at once started doing her Lamaze breathing as she engulfed her husband in a hug. Behind the mask, Bruce's eyes showed panic, fear, and a bit of excitement as he held his wife close to his body.

~*~

Human flesh baking, screams from innocent bystanders, and smoke bellowing into the atmosphere was what Ares, Hades, and Darkseid saw from their perch near Bajing, China. To the two gods, nothing was better than the sights, sounds, and odors they were immersing their senses in. The time had come, they would take control of Earth and have their fun at the same time.

"I have instructed all units," Darkseid sad, a flick of self pride could be heard, "to first take out all sources of energy that the humans so readily rely on. So far, we have hit no obstacles, but the first reports of the Justice League are coming in from the Metropolis area."

"Excellent, we have made the first move and it looks to me that we have caught everyone by surprise." Hades stated. "Now, all we need to do is concentrate more force on each squad of Justice League members as they form, but not right away, we need to let them pool what ever resources they may have and bring in more recruits from their private Mount Olympus."

"They have come to determine that their communications is dead, so they will have to resort to some other means of communication." Ares chimed in, his face never flickering from the destruction taking place farther down the hillside where a family had been brutally massacred by a group of demons. "How are we on numbers, do we need to start recruiting some more?"

"We should take the strongest, most fit of our casualties and the rest can just be casualties," Hades replied. "Darkseid, since you are in charge of this, send out word that those individuals that are slain who seem to be fit for combat are to become a member of our troops."

"As you wish," Darkseid took off towards the vortex to take him back to where Circe was, relay the directions to the units on all continents. With in minutes, he was gone and Hades let out a frustrated sigh.

"If you please excuse me, I need to tend to a family matter." Hades turned on his heels and made his way towards his chariot of black skulls that was drawn by four dragons like creatures you smelled of decay, but before he could get up into the chariot, he was stopped when Ares grabbed the reins.

"No, you can't leave quite yet. Remember, we still need to do one last thing before we can secure our victory." Ares said.

"How foolish of me," Hades smiled at his blonde counterpart, "it will be so good to see the old gang again. Once our puppet returns, let us thank him properly for all he had done for us.

Both gods began to cackle and Ares summoned several gargoyle like creates to come forward and to prepare for a trip, a trip that would seal the fate of the Earth forever.


	21. Chapter 21: Decayed & Degraded Moral

Enjoy the chapter and as always, read and review!!!

Chapter 21 is up. The war has taken the Justice League by surprise and there reserves are running low while in the Batcave Bruce and Diana await the arrival of their child.

Chapter Twenty-One: Decayed & Degraded State of Moral

~*~

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. ~John Stewart Mill

~*~

The while sterile landscape of Kansas radiated all around the Kent Homestead as night fall began to creep in. The family, who would have been around the table enjoying the Christmas Eve ham that Ma Kent had prepared, but this year the dining room was disserted, the lights were off in the house, and all the presents and stockings were left in their precise spot. In fact, the kitchen was a complete disaster with ingredients strung all over the countertops, the table, and even in the sink itself. From the looks of the kitchen, Ma Kent must have been in the middle of stirring up her biscuits for dinner, but something had interrupted her.

The living room was full of baby toys that had been strewn around on the floor and a baby bouncing seat that had been occupied earlier that afternoon was vacant as was the recliner that faced the TV. On one of the arm rests was a flyer about the newest corn hybrid to hit the market along with a pile of other pamphlets that would occupy the living quarters of any farmer or rancher's homestead. The only difference was, the pile that was next to the faded green recliner were spewed in every direction, as if someone had been in a hurry, kicked the pile over and didn't even bother to pick them up.

The rest of the house was just as barren and the one thing that was noticeable absent, other than the family, was a diaper bag. Then again, if someone would have opened the hall closet, they would have noticed that most of the winter attire was absent as well, signaling that the family had left the homestead and in a hurry.

The family was still on the premises only they were tucked into the storm cellar connected to the barn, waiting for word from the outside world. Once the attacks had started, Clark had u8shered he parents, his wife, and his son down to the cellar and then took off for the WatchTower, hoping to find out what was going on. Within the shelter, a space heater had been set up along with four army cots, non perishable food items, extra clothes, and a pile of blankets for the occupants who would need to stay in the dugout due to severe weather or attacks from an unknown enemy.

Now, almost an hour after Clark had taken off, the occupants of the small burrow were starting to wonder where he was and if they were safe. Though the armies of Hades and Ares had not started to attack any rule areas yet, the all knew it was a matter of time. Ma Kent sat on one of the cots and kept looking towards her grandson and then to her daughter-in-law, who occupied the cot to her right, giving her a shy smile and then looking back to her husband who was pacing near the entrance. No sound could be heard and the flicker of the oil lamps they were using to light the room danced on the walls, but the twilight the flames brought only made the mood in the room darker and Lois had started to have memories of a few months prior when she had been kidnapped and taken to who knows what dimension. She was starting to dwell on those memories, feeling despair and bleakness begin to blanket her and she feared that that blanket would cover her child who was sound asleep in her arms when a knock came.

The three adults looked towards the door, but once they heard the famous, "shave and a hair cut," they all let out a relieved sigh and Pa Kent answered back, 'two bits.'

"Its Green Arrow," came the familiar male voice from behind the door. But, as they had all found out, just because it sounded like a friend didn't mean it was and Pa Kent knew what to do to make sure it was Green Arrow.

"Around these parts," the elderly farmer shouted into the door, "we have a way of greeting each other."

"I can't believe I am doing this," Green Arrow muttered under his breath. "CAUGH! CAUGH! Go Crows! I Said a CAUGH CAUGH, Go Crows!"

"You need to work on your Caugh Caugh, but it works," Jonathan Kent opened the door to reveal Green Arrow and the two men shook hands. "But, we are all glad to see you."

"Well, then lets hurry," Oliver Queen jesterd for the family to come out and they headed towards the Javelin that was parked out in the coral that was connect to the barn and to the storm shelter they were hiding in. "You are my last pick up of family and I need to get back to the WatchTower to get ready to transport fresh troops and pick up those who are in need of rest."

They quickly got into the aircraft, noting the other family members and few league members who were already inside. The all took the last open three seats and Lois gave Sammy to his grandpa and headed towards a seat that was open towards the pilot and co pilot chairs.

"What is going on?" Lois asked, her fierce reporting instinct kicking in. "Who is responsible for this?"

"Hades and Ares have unleashed their armies," was the reply she got from Star Sapphire or Mrs. Shining Knight as she was know to the League Members. "They have masterminded a large offensive that stretches all seven continents."

"Why?" Was all Lois could ask.

"That," Arrow responded as he did his final check and the ship was air born, "is the million dollar question. They have knocked out our communications, our transport isn't working, and we are outnumbers over 100,000 to 1 in some areas and their armies aren't growing tired, they don't need food, and they also have the ability to recruit the new dead into their platoons so once some one is down, they are enrolled in the army of the dead."

"What can we do to help," Martha Kent's voice echoed from behind Lois' chair.

"Right now, we need support staff, people who can help get communications up, determine where we need to be, and start coordinating evacuation points and we" Arrow never finished his sentence. At that moment, the portion of the Earth that had entered the evening hours went dark, except for a few reserved areas where back up generators kicked in. The people present on the ship looked towards the darken planet and a silence so erry it would have made Batman uncomfortable enclosed the cabin. Luckily, for the time being, the WatchTower still had lights, but that beacon of hope was fading, just as the hearts of those within the aircraft.

~*~

Gotham City was always considered a 'dirty city' with the graffiti on the walls of the downtown, the rusted out cars in driveways of homes that had been labeled for demolition decades prior, and the large amount of litter in the streets. The street rats of the city were no where to be seen, in fact, most of the streets were disserted and odd sounds, sounds that would only come from the special effects departments of some Hollywood horror film could be heard. The distance and direction those growls, ear piercing screams, and uncontrollable wails were penetrating from was hard to determine.

Slowly and softly, a new sound could be heard, this sound was that from a mechanical beast, one that was built by human hands in order to one day help tame man's hate for one another. Over one of the many concrete hills of Gotham City, an altered dune buggy bound over the crest and came crashing down on the other side, jostling the three occupants. In the driver seat sat Nightwing and in the passenger seat was Batgirl, both were strapped in with helmets, but Batgirl's grip on one of the roll bars. In the back seat was Robin, his arms high in the air as if he was on a roller coaster.

"this dune buggy is awesome," shouted Robin as the dune buggy went over potholes that would have on other cars made their drives slow down on serve to avoid, but with the oversized tires and advanced shocks. The dune buggy had a deep blue exoskeleton with race car style captains chairs in the front and a modified two seater bench in the back with a make shift trunk that was nothing more than a toolbox that had been encased within the exoskeleton. Within the toolbox was as many gadgets and radios that could be packed into the tight space.

Before Batgirl could answer, Nightwing rounded a corner, the trio came across a mother with her newborn in her arms, running towards them. Her eyes were wide with terror and she clutched her child to her bosom. She let out a scream towards the heroes. Without hesitating, Nightwing slammed on the brakes and the group has undone their safety harnesses and were exiting the vehicle when a chilled wind with a sickening growl ran through their bones and ear drums, causing all four of the humans to turn and took to what stood behind the woman and her child. Creatures of unknown origins, looking to be collaboration between a dog and a lion with the scales of sun beaten lizards. Their was at least eight of these creatures, but with in the dark ally, it was hard to tell. The woman stumbled as she walked backwards towards the heroes and her eyes on the monsters. As she stumbled, she tried to maneuver her body so she would receive the impact and not her child, but the creatures sensed what was happening and tore off towards their victim, grabbing the child with their teeth and within seconds, the screaming child was silenced and its limbs had been ripped from the torso right before the mothers eyes and before she could recover in order to get to her feet, the remaining creatures attacked her, her shrills coming to a halt in mid wail.

The superheroes stared in disbelief, but Nighwing regained his senses as the creatures began to stock towards their three remaining victims. In the blink of an eye, Nightwing flung a bat a rang towards the lead creature, causing a small explosion as it came in contact with the leathery hide. Just as quickly as the smoke had formed, the creature broke the smoke and continued towards the trio, targeting Batgirl who was the closest to his grab. With one swift kick, the female superhero's boot came in contact with the creature's jaw causing a stomach curling crunch of bones and dislodging the jaw from the skull. The creature stopped dead in its tracks, but as it turned towards the humans and the rest of its pack, the jaw began to heal itself and bones could be heard locking back together. A gleam of satisfaction could be detected in the dark orbs that were assumed to be the eyes.

"You've got to be kidding." Batgirl stated as she started to back up towards the dune buggy. With a demonic growl, the creature lased out at Batgirl and a raptor like claw caught her left leg, bringing her down and blood to gush from the punctures. Nightwing flung into action and using all of his weight and momentum to tip the creature over long enough to gather his love in his arms and run towards the dune buggy with the rest of the pack close on his heals. Robin had reacted along with Nightwing and started the buggy, slipping into the back seat to allow the older hero to drive. Quickly, Nightwing slid the wounded teammate into the back seat where Robin helped her put her restraints on. As quickly as he could, Nightwing gunned the engine and they were off with the pack of demonic creatures right behind them.

"What other surprises could their," before Robin could finish his sentence, the streets of Gotham went black with the gut wrenching sound of all power going off within the mighty city, but a few hums from various generators could be heard, those hums however were very distant and far between. Robin had spoken too soon as Nightwing turned on the headlights and this gave Robin an idea. Obtaining one of the high candled spot lights, the younger superhero flashed the light towards the creatures running behind them, causing chaos among the pack and their determination to reach the buggy was washed away as quickly as the light that flooded their optics.

Robin smiled at his accomplishment, but turned towards the front and looked at the deserted streets where disserted and the abandoned cars that Nightwing was desperately drying to dodge as he made his way through the dark streets that he knew like the back of his hand. The night was still young and what he had just witnessed wiped the smile off his face and he settled back into his seat and noticed Batgirl had been tending to her wounds, which didn't seem to be life threatening. In his mind, he kept seeing he replay of the devastating scene that he had just witnessed made his stomach weak and he began to dread what else could happen between now and sunup.

~*~

Within the Batcave, a glass room sat in a cavern off the main cave that had been used as a medical area and lab for many cuts, broken bones, and to find the anti toxins to reverse the Joker's laughing gases. Up against one of the side walls, a state of the art exam bed had been installed and upon the bed layed Diana Prince-Wayne, breathing heavily as another contraction slowly faded away. Bruce had removed her dress and gave her a long white hospital gown that fell to her knees. She laid peacefully on the bed, her hands folded over her belly, her back angled up and her legs outreached towards the end of the bed.

As the pain subsided, she opened her eyes to see her husband come walking up to her on her left. As he came closer, she grabbed his arm with her left arm. As soon as he felt her touch, Bruce stopped and turned towards her. As he looked down at her, he could still see the motherly glow all around her and the passion of love she held for him in her deep blue eyes.

"Bruce, please take off your cowl. When our child is born, I don't want the first thing he or she sees to be Batman, I want the first thing she or he sees to be their father's kind and caring face. The face of Bruce Wayne." Diana requested with timbre of tender love embedded in her words.

With a genuine smile, Bruce pulled his mask off to reveal his jet-black hair, baby blue eyes, and pieces of glass that had embedded themselves in his forehead when the windows of downtown Gotham exploded as he walked from Wayne Enterprises to his car. A concerned look crept over Diana's face as she reached for the fragments of glass that protruded from her husband's forehead. With a quick motion, Bruce caught her wrist in his hand and placed it back on her stomach.

"It isn't as bad as it looks. I came over here to check up on you and to get the rubbing alcohol, tweezers, and bandages out from the cabinet next to you." Bruce informed his wife as she let go of his arm and he dropped his cowl in the red biohazard bag on the other side of the cabinet. He turned his attention back to the cabinet, opened the squeaky doors, and removed the items he had just mentioned. He carried the items to the sink.

"I was heading towards the car after the conference when glass started blowing out of windows and luckily the only place that received shrapnel was my forehead. So, I made my way back to Wayne Towers, escaped to my secret office, put the suit on and got on the spare Batcycle I have hidden in the basement and once I found out who was behind all this, I knew I had to get back home as quick as I could." Bruce said as he tended to his wounds. Once he was finished with that task, he turned on the warm water in the sink and thoroughly washed his hands all the way up to his elbows. He had removed his bat gloves before he started caring for his wounds and had pushed the sleeves of his outfit past his elbows as far as he could.

Grabbing a paper-towel, he dried his hands, discarded the used towel into the garbage can under the sink, turned and walked towards the foot of the examining bed. He leaned over and opened up the bottom drawer at the foot of the bed and pulled out a box of examining gloves and returned to his full height, placing the box next to Diana's feet.

Bruce turned towards his wife who was watching him; a scared look consumed her face and he could feel the tension she was holding within her. As Bruce reached for an exam glove, the lights began to waver and pure black engulfed the glass room and the rest of the batcave. After a few seconds of pure darkness, the rumble of the backup generators within the cave echoed as they came to life. Flickers from the lights signaled that the generators were doing their job and after several flickers, the lights came back on at full strength. "Lucky for us the backup generators have kicked on and we don't have to rely on candle light." Diana smiled at his comments as he put an exam glove on his right hand.

Bruce shot her a weak smile and then got down to business. "Diana, I need to examine you to see how far you have dilated." Carefully, Bruce pushed the hospital gown towards Diana's abdomen. "Just relax, bend your knees and point them towards the side walls."

Diana did as she was told and tried her best to relax as her husband examined her. She never took her eyes off the man she loved, not even when a new contraction began; she simply started her Lamaze breathing. After a few moments, Bruce was removing the glove, disposed of it in the garbage can underneath the sink. He turned back towards the exam table and pulled Diana's gown back towards her feet and she unbent her legs, returning them to lay upon the exam table.

"You are about four centimeters. You're doing great Diana; I'm right here" As Bruce spoke, he made his way to her left side and took her hand in his. Diana turned towards their entangled hands and withdrew her hand from his.

The contraction was ending and Diana took one final inhale through her nose and exhaled slowly through her mouth. With agonizing eyes, Diana looked up at her knight. "I'm sorry, I know you want to provide support, but allowing me to squeeze your hand will bring you down to your knees. I'm not in control of my powers presently. Please forgive me Bruce," Diana looked away, "I couldn't bare to see you in pain." She felt a hand take hold of her chin and she was once again making eye contact with a dazzling pair of baby blue eyes.

"There are other ways for me to support and comfort you." Diana found herself being gathered up off the table and felt her feet make contact with floor. With his strong arms, Bruce supported Diana as he pulled her towards his body and allowed her to lean against him and he started to sway from side to side and she followed in suit. "I hear dancing helps suppress the pain and pass the time. Besides, I believe we've never finished that dance back in Paris."

~*~


	22. Chapter 22: I knew We Stood in Hell

Sorry about the delay everyone and thank you for the reviews, story alerts, and author alerts! Health issues, a new job, and moving have made typing up the rest of this story a little more difficult, but now that I am into the swing of things with my new job and on the rebound from my health problems, more should be on its way with this story! Again, sorry about the delay, but keep those reviews coming!

Blue Eyed Wondergirl =^}

~*~

Chapter Twenty – Two: I Knew We Stood in Hell

It seemed that out of battle I escaped  
Down some profound dull tunnel, long since scooped  
Through granites which titanic wars had groined.  
Yet also there encumbered sleepers groaned,  
Too fast in thought or death to be bestirred.  
Then, as I probed them, one sprang up, and stared  
With piteous recognition in fixed eyes,  
Lifting distressful hands, as if to bless.  
And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall, -  
By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell.  
With a thousand pains that vision's face was grained;  
Yet no blood reached there from the upper ground,  
And no guns thumped, or down the flues made moan.  
'Strange friend,' I said, 'here is no cause to mourn.'  
'None,' said that other, 'save the undone years,  
The hopelessness. Whatever hope is yours.'

-Wilfred Owen

~*~

It was cold, no it was hot, then again it was still like leaves on a tree after a spring storm. The temperature played games with the occupants' senses as they moved farther into the bowels of the abyss. The cave was dark as midnight on a stormy night, but smelled so foul, even Circe was gagging. The smell was nothing she had encountered before; the air smelled worse than sewage, stables, or the stench of burning corpses. Yet, as she stood next to Hades and Ares with Darkseid standing on the other side of the chariot that was being drawn by the four dragon bodied creatures with necks like serpents, she felt like she knew where they were, but the darkness also brought shivers down her spine, shivers she had not felt before.

"Well, here is our first stop," Hades announced as the incubus quartet came to a halt in front of a strange looking rock formation jetting out of the side of the cave. The formation looked like the remains of a knotty old tree, but the center of the knot looked to be a key hole. Indeed it was as Hades summoned a true skeletal key and plunged it into the hole. Instantly, the cavern began to shake and the cavern walls dissolved to show a holding cell with one humanoid creature inside. The lone occupant stood at the far end of he cell; even in the dim light, the occupant cased a shadow, but a shadow that seem to change form, the way oil on water changes its form. Upon noticing it could be seen, the figure came forward; its shadow followed the source, but then retracted into the occupant even before becoming engulfed in the light from the torches mounted on the chariot and Circe let out a started gasp.

"Hello," said the occupant as he came close to the bars, but did not touch the metallic columns. The ashen male was wrapped in once royal purple garments that were worn and faded with a crown tarnished by time and moisture adorning his head. He had the most sinister looking green eyes you could imagine, green eyes like a witch's ebony cat in Halloween specials. "Have you come to torture me?" Came the raspy voice behind the emerald eyes that haunted Circe's own eyes as the man held his gaze with the sorceress, toying with her emotions as he penetrated into her very own soul.

The male turned his gaze towards Hades and he stared the god down as if he had a grudge against him. Not that he was closer to the light, you could see that underneath the royal purple garments could be seen the armor of a warrior. Just as the crown upon the his head had tarnished, the armor had also tarnished over the years of being in such a damp environment. "You don't just come down here to say, 'hi', you've come down here for a favor. " His nostalgic green eyes looked right through Hades. His hair was white as new snow and his compliction was pale from the lack of sunlight. Circe knew this man, it was Cronus, the original king of the gods and goddesses. Why were they down here? This made no sense to her, but she had a feeling she would soon find out.

"It is simple old man, we free you and you must do our bidding." Ares stated as he approached the bars, getting between Hades and Cronus.

"Think again boy, you can't get me out of here unless someone who has magical ability that would rival my own takes my place." The old man stated.

"Exactly," Ares said behind his mischievous smirk. Before another word could be said, the god of war grabbed Circe by her right hand and with one movement of his other arm; he had pulled out his sword and slit a river of blood from Circe's right forearm. The blood splattered onto the cell bars, causing spark to fly where the blood from the sorceress had landed on the bars. The cavern began to quake once again and all lights were extinguished, but just as mysteriously as they torches had been extinguished, they were burning once again to reveal Circe was behind the bars while Cronus stood in her place.

The sorceress screamed as she realized she had been betrayed and realized that she had been grazed by the sword of Ares. She now stood in the holding cell. Scarred like a wild animal that had been encaged for the first time, Circe lunged towards the bars, but the bars were bewitched with unknown magic to the sorceress and caused her great agony as it paralyzed her. The screams that exited her lips were threaded with true torture of the pain she was going through, and even Darkseid, who had witnessed thousands of executions, winced at what he heard. The other three didn't even flinch, but Ares was taking great joy in watching this happen before his eyes. As her screams began to reside, she began to glow and a golden light encircled her, carrying her away from the bars and towards the darkness of the cell.

"Why, my love?" she managed to ask as she was taken back farther and farther into the cell. Her voice was raspy, drained of the confidence she had shown previously.

"That is simple, my love, I no longer need your services. Oh we had fun, but really did you think this relationship would go anywhere?" Ares answered. Hades, who was standing next to his comrade had a large smile on his face, he was enjoying this to no end. He despised the sorceress and was glad to see her go.

"The baby . . . " Circe asked.

"I have plenty of bastard children to keep me company and once this child is born, I won't have to worry about your going away to bring it up and brainwash it to hate me. That is the beautiful part, once the child is born, I will take it from you and raise it." Ares looked past her eyes and right into her soul, "your not the only one who knows a thing or two about magic. You would be surprised how much reading I did in those little books of yours. You don't really think I was into you just for you, now do you?"

Circe began to scream, but the cell morphed back into the side of the cave and the sound was muffled. Ares smiled at the wall and looked back to Hades. "Well, what can I say," the war god mused, "I just wasn't that into her."

Hades shook his head and gestured for everyone to get on the chariot. "You don't beat around the bush, when you break something off, you really break something off.' The two gods chuclked and Hades returned to their mission, "we still have one more stop to make," the god of the underworld stated as he urged his beasts forward once everyone was on. "You will see why we need your help," the god said to the alien dictator, side glancing at him.

"You know," Cronus' deep voice rang out from his thin lips, "I should kill you where you stand, my dear son, but something tells me this will be worth my time."

"Trust me, old man, this will be worth your time." Hades never looked back towards his father nor did he flinch as the chariot went deeper and deeper into the recesses of the caverns, the ceiling getting lower and the stench getting to the point any mortal would have passed out.

~*~

"Heads up," shouted Shayera as she came flying in low with her mace, clobbering the demonic glutton that had attached itself to the outer field of Green Lantern's force field. John Stewart was loosing power in his ring and was noticing severe fatigue was setting in as well. He was happy to see his wife, but he became worried about their son.

"You were supposed to stay at the watch tower with Rex. What is going on Shayera?" The former marine barked as he looked towards his wife, but then saw something dart from the corner of his eyes, turning his head he saw Flash come zooming effortlessly through the ruble that was once downtown Tokyo, Japan. As he ziged and zaged through the rubble, he punched out members of the un-dead army. As he finished his round, he came a stop below the green bubble that encircled the owner of the ring that was producing the power.

"Calm down GL," Flash stated as both of the airborne league members began to slowly descend back to the Earth. "We are only the gophers, you know, the runners or flyers depending on which of us you are talking about."

"What Flash is trying to say, is we are here to pick you and Vigilante up since we've already dropped off Shining Knight and Doctor Fate." Shayera informed her husband as she walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Then why didn't someone radio me, hell why haven't you guys been using the radio system?" John's temper flared as he looked from his wife to the young red head. He was tired and he had been fighting for hours, not end in sight and the army of cadavers kept coming with more unimaginable varmints that could fly, crawl on the side of buildings like flies, or had claws that could almost penetrate the power of his green ring. The key word being almost, John had never seen creatures like this before who had the power to almost over take the power of a Green Lantern like these monstrosities.

"First of all, Rex is fine; he is back at the tower. Our communication systems are down and we have to rely on messengers to get news to groups until we figure out a way to get communication up again." Shayera explained, "We are running low on enforcements so we are going around the world, replacing tired members with members who have been resting. It is just taking longer than we thought." Shayera's eyes drifted to the background and she rested her tired eyes on the bodies of innocent residents of the once majestic city who had been caught with out a moment's notice of what was going on. If only they had been ready to act, if only they had the ability to be everywhere, if only . . .

"Shayera," John put his left thump under her chin and guided her eyes away from the carnage around them to his own eyes. "We did the best we could, let us go back and regroup."

Shayera nodded as she felt the rush of the wind go through her feathers as one of the Javelin's landed not 100 yards from her. The group made their way towards the Javelin that was under the command of Green Arrow.

"Shayera, I'm going to drop you off at Themyscira so you can convince Queen Hippolyta to allow us the use of her island during this fight. Dove and Hawk are in turkey right now and they are in desperate need of some R&R and Themyscira is the closest place. It is becoming cumbersome to keep going to and from the Watch Tower." Green Arrow asked as the group climbed in and got ready for departure.

Shayera looked towards the control panel before looking towards Green Arrow. "I will, but I don't know what to tell her about Diana."

Flash sat forward and placed his right hand on her right shoulder, giving her support. "You will know what to tell her, besides, she is your friend."

Shayera turned towards Flash and smiled at him. It struck her for the first time that he was maturing and he was becoming a leader right before her eyes!

"And, how great is it that Hawk and Dove are in Turkey?!? Doesn't that sound like some sort of lunch special?" Flash joked as he looked around the cockpit at the others who were giving him 'get real glares'. "What did I say?"

**~*~**

At last they came upon an odd rock formation. This time, Hades and Ares both approached the rocks and reached out with theirs hands, putting their palms flush on the rock. They whispered words that could not be heard by the other two and suddenly the wall faded to reveal a small cubby hole where a figurine sat. with the upper torso of a human, the lower portion was coiled like a rattle snake protecting itself where legs and feet should have been, and the arms were abnormally long for a human.

Darkseid grunted when he saw this, "what, you want to play with dolls at a time like this?" He looked towards the figurine, but before he could touch it, Ares and Hades who were on either side of the dictator clamped onto him with one hand and connected their circle to the figurine which began to glow.

"Typhon," Ares began to chant. His eyes, along with Hades' own, were closed. "We know you have been trapped here for eons, waiting for the sacrifice."

"The sacrifice of one who comes from a far away star, the sacrifice that has no true purpose to be on Gaia other than," Hades opened his eyes and looked right at Darkseid, a wicked smile eclipsing his face and his eyes burning red like the depths of Hell, "to be the sacrifice to rid you of this entrapment."

A bright light engulfed them and when it resided, Ares held the figurine of Typhon in his hands while a new figurine had taken its place on the cubby, the figurine of Darksied. Hades turned back towards the chariot and caught the figurine of Darkseid with his sword, causing it to fall to the ground, shattering into several pieces. As soon as the last piece had fallen, shadows of creatures that could be considered pack rats came from every crevasse of the cave, pulling at the broken pieces towards their layers.

"Why, how clumsy of me," Hades mused to himself as they made their way back to the chariot.

Once Cronus had seen the figurine, his eyes danced with glee! For, before him was the one creature that he knew could bring all civilization on Earth do its knees and cause great chaos that would put Hades in charge once and for all. For, in order to summon Typhon, Chronus was the only one who could awaken the creature.

~*~

Diana Wayne sat backwards on the lab chair, her arms were folded over the top of the back and her chin rested on her hands, eyes closed. She breathed slowly and deeply as the contraction phased away. Again, the caverns trembled and debris fell from the ceilings, clambering to the floor of the cave and the top of the sterile glass room.

Alone in the sterilized environment, Diana softly addressed her child who fluttered with each passing quake, "everything is fine, we won't let anything happen to you I promised." She wanted to rub her stomach, to give the child reassurance that he or she was not entering into a world where all beings were as blood thirsty as she or he's maternal grandfather. But, she could feel her strength leaving her body with each passing minute and new contraction that blanketed her mortal shell.

For the last few hours, occasional rattling and earthquake like tremors from the war going on in Gotham City and the entire world shaked the caverns that made up the batcave and occasional debris would fall, but the ceiling on the glass room had stopped any debris from getting into the cell. The last round of fire had sounded to close for comfort and Bruce had left her alone to make sure the batcave was still impenetrable. Using the magical powder Zantana had furnished, all entrances to the batcave were now closed but the fears of what could get in still scared Diana and she knew Bruce was just as nervous.

He had been gone for over an hour and fear began to drench her thoughts about Bruce getting caught under some debris as he made his rounds. She closed her eyes and shook her head from side to side, hoping this movement would dislodged those thoughts from her imagination. As she shook her head, a single tear slid down her left cheek, but a simple sound erased all foul thoughts of her true love getting caught in one of these quakes.

The door to the glass room had opened and the Batman's boots had made a slight clicking sound as they crossed the threshold. Diana snapped her head towards the doorway and saw Bruce Wayne dressed in his Batman costume minus the cowl and had put his gloves back on and unrolled his sleeves. As she sat up to give him a strong smile, she noticed he carried blankets and towels as he made his way to the counter where the sink was and put the itmes down. He tenderly pulled out a black sheet and turned towards Diana.

"I know it isn't a baby color," he told his wife as he held up the black sheet to show her. "After looking over the blankets and towels Alfred brought down to the cave, I figured they were all to rough for a baby's skin so I found a brand new Batman cape. It is fresh microfiber material that will keep the baby warm and safe. The problem is it is to big for a baby so I will have to cut it in half, but that can wait." He put the cape on top of the pile he had just brought in and pulled up the other chair and moved it so he would be sitting across from his wife.

"I was thinking, their have been a number of Waynes born in this mansion, but none born in these caverns. In fact, I was the first Wayne to be born in a hospital." Bruce sat in the other office chair and mirrored the way his wife sat. "My father had the privilege of delivering me. After Alfred found out that we were expecting, he told me that delivering me was one of dad's favorite moments not only as a father, but as a physician. When dad would give guest lectures, he would always say the best part of being a physician was being able to deliver his own son." Bruce stared dreamily into the eyes of his soul mate. He had found that Diana was a great listener and she was the only person, other than Alfred, whom he could talk freely with about his parents.

Diana stretched out her hand and clasped it on top of his own. "Then, like your father, you will have the privilege of delivering your own child. You will be the first person the baby will see, just as your father was the first person you saw." Diana spoke with a note of pride with each word, but the weakness that was braided in with those words made Bruce nervous. He had studied medicine just as an EMT would, but if problems would arrive during the deliver of their child, Bruce didn't know what he would do. As Batman, he had assisted with several deliveries, but all of those had been routine deliveries with no complications arising. As he watched his wife, he could tell she was tiring from the long labor and when he had checked her before he went to do the rounds around the cave, she was at 8 centimeters and she still had a ways to go.

As he looked at her hand that was atop of his own, he shot her a smirk. "What was that you were telling me about not holding hands because you weren't in control of your powers?"

"I'm not holding your hand," Diana answered with a diplomatic tone. "I am merely patting your hand and giving you the support and comfort you disserve." With those words, Diana sighed and layed her head back to where it had been prior to Bruce coming in. Bruce smiled affectionately at her, moved his chair closer, kissed the top of her head and nuzzled his face along side hers.


End file.
